Understanding Composition!
January 3, 2010
Christmas lights and Holiday decorations are being repealed in neighborhoods everywhere, while news anchors and ESPN analysts wax nostalgic about the end of a decade which really doesn’t end until December 31, 2010. Bellies plump from holiday indulgences seem ripe for the resolutions of a New Year. The obvious thing for an art blogger to do would be to write about setting goals with fresh resolve. But I am not going to do that. I’m going to hit the ground running with a post designed to help artists and collectors understand more about the making of great art.
painting by James McNeil Whistler
Here’s a famous painting by James McNeil Whistler. No doubt you’ve seen it before. Quick question, what’s it called? If you said Whistler’s Mother you would NOT be correct. Whistler called it Arrangement in Grey and Black. Here’s my point. Great, even good, art is not about the subject matter. It’s about the orchestration of shapes, values, colors and edges into a harmonious whole. The appeal of great art transcends the obvious. It is the communication of abstract visual relationships, also known as composition. Whistler himself said, “As music is the poetry of sound so is painting the poetry of sight. Subject matter has nothing to do with harmony of sound or color.”
This painting depicts Whistler’s mother but according to the artist himself, she is not what it’s about. Painter Ian Roberts in his instructional video Mastering Composition, quotes French poet Paul Valery who said, “To see is to forget the name of the thing one sees.” It is not Whistler’s mother we respond to in this painting as much as it is an abstract irregular shape (her dress) superimposed over a geometric “L” (formed by the curtain and floor along with the wall). On a primal level we are moved by the stark contrast of dark (the dress) and light (the head and picture on the wall) floating in a sea of grey. We feel that this provincial woman bears the burdens of a puritan lifetime. It is a beautiful painting which does what all beautiful things do. It silences us. It holds us with whispers resonating deep within.
Whether we are artists, collectors or critics our judgment should be formed by the knowledge that good art is not subject driven. It is composition driven. Here is another painting which further illustrates this point.
Grecian Flower Market by John William Waterhouse
The subject of this painting by John William Waterhouse is a flower market in Greece; but clearly it is not the selling of flowers to which we respond. Rather, it is the stark contrast of light and shadow. Super-imposed on the subject is an abstract “C” formed by the awning and the shadow it casts. The figures, all within the shadow, are silhouetted by the bright background. It would be tough to argue that this painting is subject driven. Furthermore, it was surely “composed” rather than “found”. I doubt that Waterhouse was out wandering the streets looking for something to paint when he came upon this scene just as it is. The concept of “composing” a painting was easier for artists and patrons of that day to understand. We live in the time of camera phones. The convenience of photography, exacerbated by the digital age, has fostered a snapshot mentality which must be overcome if we are to fully appreciate the art of composition. Learning about abstract design armatures, such as the “C”, is vital to understanding how great, even good, paintings are created. We will study more of these “conventions” next week and begin to look at how artists can make practical use of them.
TIME FOR A COMMERCIAL! There is space available in my workshops at Indian Rocks Beach, Fl (March 19-21, 2010), Boca Grande, Fl (March 29-31, 2010) and Cortona, Italy (April 10-17, 2010). For more info click on the location. Also there is room for a couple more in my Monday afternoon oil class at Suntan on St. Pete Beach. Email me at robertjsimone@gmail.com
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4 Responses to “Understanding Composition!”
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Great blog post! I love getting these!
Thank you Robert, and Happy New Year!
Right On Robert! I couldn’t agree more! Let me add one little, and very important aspect of composition that the Whister has—tension! The hard edged white rectangle which is outlined in a black frame fights with the black “L” and creates tension.
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