Arnheim: Power of the Center
Ø Two tendencies affect the interpretation of composition.
o Centricity: We see and perceive ourselves as the center of our reality.
§ Applies to social groups as well.
§ Things are directed toward us or away from us.
§ Actions are controlled by our pleasure and fears.
o Eccentricity:
§ We recognize others as centers of their world.
§ We recognize we live among others.
§ It situates our center towards outward goals or targets.
Ø Primary centers attracts or repel outer centers.
o In turn, outer centers affect primary centers.
Ø Interaction between the two is fundamental to life.
Ø Centricity and eccentric are spatial relations.
o They are basic to the physical and mental world.
o Art reflects and encourages the tensions between the two.
§ They are the same tensions relative to life.
Ø Stagnant images are not dynamic or animated.
Ø Shapes are required to by dynamic to depict the human experience.
o Shapes need to be configurations of forces to reflect artistic expression.
Ø Good composition is more than stagnant objects.
Ø Mass and energy
o New theories suggest we see patterns of energy,
§ Not necessarily mass.
o Composition is the same.
§ We interpret works as configuration of forces.
Ø Composition needs to be viewed as forces.
Ø Vectors:
o Centric Composition
§ A force sent out from a center.
§ Spreads energy in a space.
§ Representative of Freedom and Energy.
§ Sunburst pattern.
o Eccentric composition
§ Centricity always comes first.
§ And then eccentricity become visible and in our present.
§ The vector is no longer a goal directed target.
§ Centers can act as emitting energy,
· Or drawing energy.
Ø We place ourselves at the center,
o With gravity as an external force.
o Gravity forces up and down structures,
§ Like columns and trees
§ And this simplify lines for horizontal and verticals.
Ø Center means the center of a force.
o A focus of energy with vectors converging or radiating out.
o Dynamic centers are present in any visual communication.
§ Gravitation centers emerge for irregular shapes.
o There is no difference between up and down,
§ But we perceive it because of gravity.
§ We experience direction through kinesthetic and sight.
· Physical effects of gravity are felt by the muscles.
Ø Varieties of Weight
o Weight increases attraction.
§ Forces of attraction between objects varies directly with the product of their masses.
o Distances increase visual weight
§ If the object is close to the center of interest.
§ It will be dependent with the center.
o Distances decreases attraction,
§ If the object is too far from the center of interest.
§ It will be viewed as independent from the center.
o Weight usually has a downward feel,
§ But it can be dispersed with new points of centers and vectors.
Ø Frames
o There are two ways to orient oneself in space.
§ A Landmark: A center that the environment can relate.
§ A place by enclosure: A confined space subdivided by available spaces.
o Both ways serve towards orientation:
§ What exists
§ What they are
§ How they relate to one another.
o Frames are centers that emancipate the inner and the other.
§ It is a close system.
§ It fosters centers.
§ It shows things in context.
§ It defines a picture as a closed entity.
§ Generally runs parallel lines to meet the architecture of inside rooms.
§ Separates the subject to a world of his own.
§ A detached part of the world
§ Allows a dimension of work that the subject expands further than the boundaries.
o If the main weight of the centers is within the frame,
§ Then centers are realized within the image, with outgoing vectors.
§ Otherwise, the centers will be perceived as outside the image with vectors entering the image.
o Frames emphasize design elements.
Arnheim, Rudolf. The Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts. Berkeley: University of California Press. 2009. Print.
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