Thursday, June 18, 2009

Backgrounds - or the lack thereof.....


"The Politics of Nature", 20"x30"... how often has one seen pictures of the neighbors talking over the backyard fence, and one figuratively 'sitting on the fence'? does it need anything more to show? would adding anything gain or lose the impact? but, it is being said, there are no persons at the backyard fence - only a couple of vegetations... true, and that is what makes this more than a metaphoric rendering - there is an analogy employed as well, for how much of backyard conversing is anything more than a variation of 'watching the grass grow' or ' watching paint dry'?

But, to get back to the central question, what if anything could be added to this in the way of background which would or could contribute to the theming - so, if nothing, then why have anything... not all renderings require flush-walled rendering to be a complete fine art contemplative work [ note the "Original sin" and "Four bitten Fruit" renderings exampled previously - sure, a lower wall to the ledge could had been added, as another wall behind the whole, but would that have increased the theming, or would it have detracted from what was there?]... note, tho, the "Yearning Tree" rendering, which does have a distant background, and how it coheres everything by being there, and which would be less the rendering for the lack of that background... this is why theming needs be given the thought so rarely given - it makes not only the question of whether to have a background, but often what kind and how much it needs intrude [if any] to the fore to be an integral aspect of the rendering [this same holds true, btw, with portraiture, which is why so often photographers use some bland cloth behind their subjects - anything else intrudes or interferes with the 'main event']...

5 comments:

  1. Backgrounds drive me crazy...what to omit or include. All of my first renderings were just the subject and nothing else. Of course...I haven't that many renderings under my belt...but working on it. Still working through the process...learning as I go along.

    Speaking of learning...I have been devoting my spare time to reading...Ayn Rand...Koestler...and Clifton. Thanks for the heads-up on these and other books.

    Still waiting for others to join in the discussion. We are a growing, but pretty quiet bunch.

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  2. You're not the only one so waiting...

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  3. BTW - how is reading Act of creation coming along - any new insights from the book, especially as it would apply to your rendering?

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  4. Slowly...it has been a while since I read something that wasn't mindless drivle and I find that I am needing to retrain my brain. Rand tied it in knots and I'm still sorting out what I read there. It feels good to stretch these muscles and fill my head with something new and challenging. When I see the light...you'll be the first to know...well...maybe the second. :)

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  5. I think at times backgrounds can make a painting or drawing too busy.
    Many times, the most simple of creations can make the biggest statement.

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