Flowers

Can they provide a model and direction for human evolution? Color texture and geometry combine here to elicit an immediate visceral response—a Wow!— whether from a potential pollinator or a human observer. It’s the energy of attraction. But from where does it originate? From the flower itself? From the image of the flower? From the […]

Nations And Nature

All flags wave in the winds of nature Aside from the symbolism represented by the stars and stripes, the American flag standing against the sky speaks to me of the contrast between nations and nature, and how the former are dependent upon the latter. The flag, most flags, symbolize a people, a group characterized by […]

XII. Vectors

Vectors have different meanings and applications in mathematics, biology, psychology, computer science, and other fields. Because the application considered here is their use as an aesthetic tool,  a vector will be considered any visual element that guides the viewer’s eye within or around a frame. I think of them as lines of force that give […]

IV. Composition / Social Order

In pictorial art, composition relates to how visual elements are organized within a frame. Both Eastern and Western artists through the centuries developed insightful guidelines to help them maintain the viewer’s attention. Aspiring artists and many in the public appreciate that the organization of elements within a frame influences the viewer’s experience of an image. […]

V. Contrast / Social Contrast

Technically speaking, “contrast” in the pictorial realm is the ratio between the darkest dark and the lightest light in an image. “Soft” contrast at one end of the continuum indicates that there’s very little difference between the lights and darks, the extreme being a “muddy” or “flat” image, gray overall—as in the image below.   […]