(Correction) The Shapes Between Makes Things Work!
SATURDAY MORNING ART THOUGHTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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NOW TO MY SATURDAY MORNING ART THOUGHTS
Thirty spokes converge on a hub
The space between them
Make the wheel work...
Translation of lines from Verse 11, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
No matter how technically well done a painting is, its intervals can make or break its dynamics. An interval is the distance between two or more edges. Those might be inside a shape, between shapes or from shape to the edge of a painting. To illustrate, here’s Albrecht Durer’s etching, Hare,
Intervals are important because they give rhythm to our paintings. It works the same as in music: When a tune’s rhythm lacks variation, we grow tired of it. In visual art, if the spaces between edges are too similar in size, the work feels boring.
The boring factor is one reason not to place an isolated or important image at the center of a painting unless the surrounding images break the boredom. That’s not a rule, but a factor of human perception that links into why it’s the space in between that makes things work.
That’s a fun thing to play with during the holidays.
Thank you for the reminder about the “shapes between”, which I would also call negative shapes. But perhaps your term is better, because “negative” is, well, negative or “less than”. But the spaces between can make or break a painting IMO!