I find it appealing because it is a natural subject that I like and can relate to instantly. I am starting with Gary Hume as suggested in the brief for this research point, I have found a picture I like amongst quite a range that I have no feeling for. Contemporary Artists using Negative Space within their Works
We need the contrast to describe what we see and contrast shows us the negative positive space relationship amongst other things.
And again Notan harks back to the principal that you cannot have light without dark nor negative without positive (pretty sure there are some minimalist, abstract and the like works which will be the exceptions to the rule but for now lets just believe). (the Yin and Yang image is a classic example of this theory). This Japanese word (from Japanese art) is used to describe the idea of balanced light and dark areas within a picture. Contemporary artists have used this relationship/ effect to reverse the positive space into negative space as we shall see later on.ĭigressing slightly from the principal of negative/positive space is the principal of Notan. Once we understand this principal negative space is starts to look rather more interesting than just empty bits in a painting or a foggy back ground, and positive space is sometimes not so easily defined. In the picture neither the whole head or vase are visible, the only detail is the outline yet your brain and mine is filling in the gaps and deciding what it is we see. In other words our mind is, using the imagery we see, filling in the gaps – (Gestalt psychology). Our brain in this circumstance chooses which area to recognise as positive and negative space to interpret what we are seeing as a recognised form. This trickery lies in the brain’s ability to make an informed decision about its surroundings based on incomplete information. We are all familiar with the optical illusion picture above, is it a vase or two people facing each other? Negative space informs us of these possibilities. As much can be said by absence as presence and arguably more on occasion. Negative space is equally important as the positive, without negative space there would be no positive space. But just because this negative space is ’empty’ doesn’t mean it is unimportant to the work. Traditionally this positive space is the part of the art work where it is all going on, the subject is here, detail, form, everything and it in turn is surrounded by negative space where nothing is that is part of the focus or positive space ( it’s starting to get a bit tricky now). I will get on to these artist guys later, first I need to get a firm grip on this ’empty’ space and not so ’empty’ spaces…įor every negative there has to be a positive. So for the negative space we are looking at the ’empty’ bits, the back grounds, the spaces in between the positive spaces and latterly in contemporary art the spaces artists chose to leave blank for a meaningful purpose.
Many instructional art texts define negative/positive space and the artist’s use of along the lines of the above quotes. It’s a liberating and controllable way of working and scores above all other methods in the drawing of complex negative shapes.īefore attempting to recognise and understand the use of the relationship between positive and negative space in art, and interpret the meaning and method behind the artists employ of the technique, I think it is important to understand exactly what is meant by these terms to better understand the implications of. Getting it right the first time will always give a sharply defined finish that all other methods muddy. Negative drawing offers the means to tackle complicated tasks in manageable stages and, within the white space, presents the opportunity to draw perfectly and completely, without alteration or experimentation. It is designed to support the foreground of the picture. It emphasises the idea that the viewer constructs his or her own meaning from the image. The term negative space is something of a misnomer. When used creatively and intelligently, positive and negative space together can tell a story using visual composition alone. Positive space refers to the main focus of a picture, while negative space refers to the background.
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