Some architects believe that buildings should be designed to minimize the extent to which scenic views might be taken for granted: soaring vista of the Pacific on the stairway landing, not in the living room. I think this view has a lot of merit*, and I think it also applies to choosing art to hang on your wall.
I find this print, for example, tremendously both aesthetically and intellectually appealing. I love to get lost in it, and I love to think hard about it. But if it were hanging on my wall, would my pleasure in either diminish?
If I were to see it every day in the context of the room that it was in, I would almost certainly start to find it less arresting. And maybe I would stop looking at it, and instead begin to passively see it, and finally see it without seeing it and have my visual cortex process: “there’s that Ole Kortzau** print I loved*** and bought."
*It shouldn’t be applied indiscriminately, of course: ocean views, for me, are less thrilling (and thus rewarding when glimpsed) than meditative. I’m contemplative enough; I don’t need to be detained on my staircase due to prolonged gazing.
** These asterisks link to his website. More of these kinds of prints under “Serigrafi.”
***Just after I typed that “d” I reflexively deleted it, and felt disingenuous and added it back - and now it seems that this could be the crux of the matter. What’s the difference between:
“there’s that print I loved and bought.”
“there’s that print I love and bought.”
I think “loved” may be used more often to echo “bought.” The mere act of saying something increases our belief in it - is this grammar affecting our feelings? Does the fact that English doesn’t have a verb form that corresponds exactly to the imperfect tense make us, on any level, think we’re done with something we’re not?And sorry about the formatting. Word.
8 comments:
"Some architects?" Besides the obvious FLW reference, who?
Don't you have a dissertation to write?
What makes you think that some unknown, random, anonymous person, commenting on this blog purely out of the blue, has a dissertation to write?
Studies have shown that 3 out of 5 blog-commentors have dissertations to write.
I like those prints. The artist seems to really 'get' the golden section. I think that's why I'm drawn to them. No pun intended.
Sorry, JC, but this artist does not get the Golden Section. Neither do you.
Anonymous, please don't comment here again.
JC, please accept my apologies for the rude, snarky, unhelpful, cowardly remark. I wasn't familiar with the Golden Section, but I see what you mean. I love how something that can be described in its barest forms so esaily - the top half is blue, the bottom half is darker blue, and there's a circle with stripes of color - is nonetheless so instantly recognizable. Iconic, really.
World at large, JC was in the army, served as a firefighter, and has broken a nose. Just sayin'...
Wow, l&i, I'm impressed! I didn't know your readership included snooty yet milquetoast art critics.
Thanks for the defense, l&i. I should probably mention in addition to your kind words that I also STUDIED DESIGN. And was raised by a carpenter and an artist.
So yes, I'm familiar with math in general and the divine proportion in particular.
I'm certainly not claiming to be an expert, but the last I heard, art was open to interpretation.
Since *somebody* (who shall remain anonymous) seems unable to make the leap to understanding my interpretation, let me expound upon it.
I was not referencing mathematical precision of placement of objects i.e. the nautilus curve we all associate with the golden section, but rather the artist's use of one dominant color in relation to a less dominant color or colors. There seems to be sometimes literal use of the golden rectangle in some of his more simplified works. But most times, it is not a placement-oriented representation, as some artists use to balance their works, but rather proportional indicated only by the ratio or proportion of one color to the next, regardless of placement on the canvas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rectangle
I keep this proportion in the back of my mind when I am trying to figure out why something is pleasing to my eye, hence my comment here in response to why l&i might be drawn to this artist. I think we all seek this proportion for visual balance, whether we are aware of it or not.
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