58" x 48", oil on wood panelSee the little swath of color on the left edge? I hate this sort of decision. I started adding edge shapes along the sides to address the edges and balance the composition, not as an integral part of the entire piece, but in the crudest way. It's a tacked-on "fix". I kept pretending I was dealing with the painting, but there's something almost shameful about caving to this type of convention, in such a conciliatory manner.
But a composition which locks into place supports all the loose ends. It allows more chaos. The mark-making and imagery can almost fall apart, in a good way, when it's manacled compositionally. The passages can be more arbitrary, the juxtapositions more ridiculous and illogical.
Compositional integrity is a beneficial tool. I just hate when it becomes rule or obsession-driven.
Then I noticed how this painted edge shape resembles a tire balancing lead, both visually and functionally. That seemed very funny at the time.
But a composition which locks into place supports all the loose ends. It allows more chaos. The mark-making and imagery can almost fall apart, in a good way, when it's manacled compositionally. The passages can be more arbitrary, the juxtapositions more ridiculous and illogical.
Compositional integrity is a beneficial tool. I just hate when it becomes rule or obsession-driven.
Then I noticed how this painted edge shape resembles a tire balancing lead, both visually and functionally. That seemed very funny at the time.
3 comments:
Tire balancing is a great metaphor. I'm going to use it.
I sort of feel like the red cutting in brings up something I was stressing to my class last night. The tangent is a powerful tool/trick/danger for flattening space. In this piece the (cool) on below, there is a field or ground that seems to continue off the picture plane and behind the edge. They are windows to a greater continuum. Then there is a magnetic cluster of paint coming together in the middle. I don't really think about the shaped surface anymore. Well, until that little red tangent flicked in and re-enforced the edge as a line. It became an object again, not a window. The red flick gives the edge a brushed ink contour or drop shadow?
These are cool. You are raising the bar.
"in this piece AND the (cool) onE below"
You know, I just pulled out all the other paintings from this group, and realized I need to work on them more.
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