The curve of the gauze leads the eye up to the strip of
corrugated cardboard.Focal Point or Not?
Let's begin with the dangerous notion that you don't
absolutely have to provide a single focal point. Many
well-known artists in the past 100 years have done quite
well without one. Jackson Pollock (flowing lines and drips],
Willem de Kooning (thick brushstrokes in varied directions],
Robert Rauschenberg (grids], and Sean Scully (repeated
rectangles) have all produced work that encourages the
viewer to roam around the entire painting without settling
on one particular spot. In this style of "all-over composition"
, , J - ..... ---
This layout has a dual focus. The two portraits are linked by a
diagram of the theater. Opposite corners contain text to main-
tain the balance.each part of the painting is as interesting as every other
part. Try some of these methods for yourself:
Repetition of a shape andlor a color, providing
visual "stepping stones." The more repetition, the
stronger the rhythm, and the easier it is to follow
the pathways.- Flowing lines that glide across the canvas, double
back, loop, streak, and overlap
Grids that divide the space into separate compart-
ments, which nevertheless relate to each other.
H o w T O C O MPOSE I 27