COMPOSITION

© Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos. ROMANIA. 1975. In a train.

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/10/10/street-photography-composition-lesson-3-diagonals/

The idea of compostion in art is significant.  

Composition is at the very centre of art practice, 

without it art would not exist from any culture!  

The above image is from Erik Kim's Street Photography blog where he has analysed Henri Cartier-Bresson's photograph for its compositional form through referring to the following book on 

'Dynamic Symmetry' 

Erik Kim employs the book's analytic structures to dissect and deconstruct Henri Cartier-Bresson's photographs where he identifies 'reciprocal diagonals' as key elements in Cartier-Bresson's work.

© Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos. FRANCE. 1932. Marseille.

The differences in the two photographs above are quite evident at first, where the grids have not been imposed on the image.  The two figures above in the Marseille photograph look far less formal than they become when the grid is applied.  There are many ways of implementing compositional structure within an artwork.  It would be good if you looked at a particular artwork that attracts you and try and find out what rules, if any, apply in its composition.  It could be a rhythmic form of compositional structure as employed by artists such as Jackson Pollock.

http://www.jackson-pollock.org/composition.jsp

 Composition (White, Black, Blue and Red on White), 1948, 

'part of the permanent collection at the New Orleans Museum of Art, is an excellent example of Pollock's style of gesture (action) painting. Composition typifies Pollock's 'drips,' or flung paint, which he painted in a rhythmic, undulating style. By the time Pollock completed Composition, he had moved the canvas from the easel onto the floor, enabling him to interact equally with the canvas's four sides. A few years earlier he had abandoned the paintbrush in favor of applying paint with non-conventional tools including sticks and spatulas. The placement of the thickly layered paint derived from the movement of Pollock's body through space records his performance. The eye may follow and trace an individual strand of paint, and through its unpredictable twists and turns, recreate his dance. Thus, the painting vibrates with his presence and resonates with his movement over and across the canvas.'

If you were making an analysis of the above painting's compositional structure you could;

• print it out and draw over it and scan it back into a computer 
• or photograph it and draw into it if your phone has that facility.
• photograph it & work it via your tablet (if you have one)
• scan it and work it in PhotoShop or 'The GIMP' which is a freeware downloadable software program.

Understanding how a composition works within a frame and how it has affected viewers throughout history indicates the power and relevance of considering formal considerations of composition before you gain enough confidence to try and break the rules you have learnt.  But maybe you should also seek out some rules you have never considered and try and appreciate why they may be important and how by understanding them and then breaking them you may increase the power of your imagery.   

PHOTOGRAPHY

For example in photography there is 'The Rule of Thirds' as exemplified below.

http://insights.elearningnetwork.org/?p=826

'When placing photos, follow The Rule of Thirds. If you draw a nine-square (3×3) grid across your screen, you need to place your main subject at the intersection of two of the gridlines. This makes for an interesting composition. Placing it slap in the middle is boring!'

Whether you agree with the above or not it has influenced photographers for a very long time.  

Can you create a photograph that does not follow the rule of thirds where it is still a powerful and interesting image?

ART & DESIGN

The Golden Section 

Fibonacci numbers, like many elements found in nature, follow a 1:1.61 ratio - this is what we refer to as the Golden Ratio, and as it forms such a common sight in nature, it feels pleasing to the eye when we use this same ratio in our design work.

The Golden Ratio is the relationship between two numbers on the Fibonacci Sequence...

...and plotting the relationships in scale provides us with a spiral that can be seen in nature all around us

The above are from the the web page 'The Designers Guide to the Golden Ratio'

http://www.creativebloq.com/design/designers-guide-golden-ratio-12121546

Sacred Geometry

Sacred Geometry- In-PHI-nite-Fractals

By Jeff Andrews

Sacred geometry involves sacred universal patterns used in the design of everything in our reality, most often seen in sacred architecture and sacred art. The basic belief is that geometry and mathematical ratios, harmonics and proportion are also found in music, light, cosmology. This value system is seen as widespread even in prehistory, a cultural universal of the human condition.It is considered foundational to building sacred structures such as temples, mosques, megaliths, monuments and churches; sacred spaces such as altars, temenoi and tabernacles; meeting places such as sacred groves, village greens and holy wells and the creation of religious art, iconography and using “divine” proportions. Alternatively, sacred geometry based arts may be ephemeral, such as visualization, sand painting and medicine wheels.Sacred geometry may be understood as a worldview of pattern recognition, a complex system of religious symbols and structures involving space, time and form. According to this view the basic patterns of existence are perceived as sacred. By connecting with these, a believer contemplates the Great Mysteries, and the Great Design. By studying the nature of these patterns, forms and relationships and their connections, insight may be gained into the mysteries – the laws and lore of the Universe.

The Golden Section 

http://www.wellthychoices.net/2013/02/24/sacred-geometry-involves-sacred-universal-patterns-used-in-the-design-of-everything-in-our-reality/

FILM & VIDEO 

'The Line' or 'Crossing the Line' also referred to as 

The 180 degree rule

Known as the ‘180 degree rule,’ this standard rule of moviemaking states that to maintain consistent screen direction, the camcorder should always stay on one side of the "axis of action" (A)

The illustration shows the effect of the 180 degree rule. The camera can film anywhere along the 180 degree divide line (the shaded area). Any shots used will always make sense to the viewer as the 'action' is always flowing in the same direction (1, 2, 3). However, if you film from the opposite side of the line (4) the orientation changes. This change of orientation would appear strange and confusing to the viewer. The effect is made even worse when the subject is moving.

To avoid making this mistake, you should try to set up your scene and subjects so that you can shoot all from the same side. Imagine a line cutting through the middle of the scene—the camcorder should never cross this line.

http://www.serif.com/appresources/MPX6/Tutorials/en-us/tutorials/basics_continuity.htm

So, The above RULES relate to composition from historical art practice, photography and film and video making.  They can be found present in many contemporary works across media.  Their use remains a consistent and reliable basis for creative artists across a range of disciplines.  They offer formal constraints for creative artists or designers to apply, or follow.  To break these rules you must understand how they operate.  Increasingly we are witnessing a meltdown of discrete technological identities where in our digital revolution many rules and traditions are being challenged.

DIGITAL / NANO 

Fractal Geometry

'The story of Chaos begins in number, specifically in the mathematics and geometry of the fourth dimension. This is the home of Complex numbers and Fractal Geometry. Unlike the other dimensions - the first, second and third dimensions composed of the line, plane and solid - the fourth is the real world in which we live. It is the space time continuum of Man and Nature where there is constant change based on feedback. It is an open system where everything is related to everything else. Prior science and math was concerned with closed systems in the first, second and third dimensions. It emphasized "left brain algebra," and ignored "right brain geometry." Since Einstein, however, we know that even the third dimension - solid bodies - is just a model for reality, it does not really exist. We in fact live in the fourth dimension of the space-time continuum. Since Mandelbrot, we know what the fourth dimension looks like, we know the fractal face of chaos. He is the key Chaotician of our times, and before we begin our journey into the geometry of chaos, we must first understand his story.'

http://www.fractalwisdom.com/fractal.html 

I hope the above introductions give you something to consider, kick against or ponder.  What will you do though?

• Analyse something.
• Create something of your own and analyse its formal qualities.
• Challenge some existing understanding of composition (& state why & how)!