Introduction
Over the next few months I will continue to explore the
concept of scale. My practical work will build on the new ideas and methods I
have already discovered through the study of artists such as Charles Sheeler,
Mark Rothko and Peter Doig. My aim is to use concepts about scale to enhance my
practice and to help consolidate the development of my practice.I am going to look at two aspects regarding scale. First, scale can affect the way we see a composition and can be manipulated within the picture plane to add power to a work. In my previous post I have already illustrated this point with Sheeler’s painting “Water”, 1945.
Secondly, the size of a painting itself impacts on the experience
of the viewer in a number of ways, often contributing to mood and atmosphere. A
good example is Rothko’s Seagram Murals at the Tate Modern, already discussed.
My own exploration into those ideas and methods have already
begun, and I will shortly be illustrating what I have learned with a series of
new oil paintings.
CHANGING THE SCALE
Scale is relative to the other objects in the picture, its
surroundings, including people.
Kara Walker, No World, from an Unpeopled Land in Uncharted
Waters, 2010, Aquatint
In No World, Kara Walker has used imaginative imagery and
the scaling up of a pair of hands emerging from the seabed in a powerful image
representing the slave trade. The huge hands hold a slave ship aloft while people
ashore are seen in silhouette on the shoreline. A large, huge figure, floats
ominously beneath the surface of the water. Are the hands trying to rescue the
boat and its passengers? They gently raise the ship and hold it up with the
tips of their fingers. As the hands are in silhouette, and distorted in size,
they make a big impact. I think that this is an excellent example of the good
use of scale to make a powerful statement.
In another example
(above), Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) uses architectural imagery drawn to a
large scale, with severe angles and arches, to give a sense of mystery and
foreboding. De Chirico’s unsettling composition uses scale together with
distorted perspective and cropping to create the mood of the work. His work
involves a strong narrative and links with Surrealism (which is not part of
this discussion). A girl runs along with a hoop, but what is the dark shadow
set against the bright yellow of the street which is lurking behind the
building?
The same techniques
to create power and mood can be employed in a similar way using natural
objects.
Green Tree Form,
Interior of Woods, 1940 (above) by Graham Sutherland (1903-1980) depicts a
solitary, abstracted form of a tree root, which due its scale looms out eerily
from its surroundings. Sutherland has cleverly used scale, form and colour to
depict this strange apparition, which could be a monster appearing from out of
the gloom. The background woods or undergrowth is suggested by murky greens and
the vague outline of other vegetation.
Conclusions and relevance
to my practice
All of the above
images use scale to make powerful imagery with impact. Upscaling within the
picture plane itself helps with the understanding of the narrative and
mood and enhances the experience of the audience. I will use these ideas to
experiment playing with scale with the intention of building these ideas into
current and future works.
I have already explored
aspects of scale in a series of works by exploiting the use of dynamic lines,
angles, perspective and proportions. These paintings, and a discussion of them,
which will feature in future entries on my blog.
I have also
experimented with the use of larger canvases for my paintings. I have increased
the size of my work by using two canvases approximately four times the size of
the previous ones to explore the findings of my research.
Preliminary findings
show that working in a larger scale enhances form and provides further scope to
explore space. Increasing the size of a painting creates greater visual
impact. It also allows the development
of ideas and techniques which can exploit the painting medium.
The scope for
targeting professional exhibitions will improve. My work will also be better
placed for external environments including the on-line presence of my practice.
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