2020-08-01 Artists & Illustrators

SPATIALTENSION

Inthelinedrawingabove,figure

4a,sixrectanglesappeartohover

atvaryingdistancesfromthe

viewer’seye.Asshapesseemto

overlapandgetsmaller,theypush

backintospace.

Figures4band4cshowthesame

configurationinfullcolour.In4b,

colouris inspatialagreementwith

line.Thewarmest,brightestshape

(theyellowrectangle)is alsothe

largest.It overlapsanyrectanglenear

it.Likewise,thecoolest,dullest

coloursfill boththebackgroundand

thetwosmallestrectangles.

Thecolourin4creversesthatof

4b,puttingthebrightest,warmest

colourinthebackgroundwhile

Figure 4a Line drawing showing how size and overlapping

shapes create the illusion of depth

Figure 4b The same confi guration with colours

reinforcing the spatial illusion

Figure4cThesameconfigurationwithcolours

flatteningthespatialillusion

placing a light, cool chromatic

grey in front.

Consider the spatial differences

between these two renderings in

terms of relative overall fl atness.

Where colour and line agree as in

4b, the representation of three-

dimensional space is persuasive.

It is easy to perceive the large yellow

rectangle at the bottom and the

small, vertical rectangle at the top as

being separated by a vast distance.

Spatial tension results when colour

and line disagree, as in fi gure 4c.

This is what the Modernist painter

and educator Hans Hofman called

“push pull.” Despite their great size

differential, the large grey rectangle

at the bottom and the thin, vertical

LEFT George

Inness, A Bit of the

Roman Aqueduct,

1852, oil on

canvas, 99x136cm

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART, ATLANTA, GA