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,
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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 our spaces between edges are too much the same size, the work feels boring.
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The boring factor is one reason why it's a good idea not to place an isolated or important image in dead center of a painting. 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.
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1 comment:
This is where I often use the golden ratio.
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