if you are a musician, a writer, a painter, or even if you get dressed in the morning, please read this blog.
reason: i am under the strong opinion that negative space is a very very important component of anything and everything that is composed, written, painted, or worn. let me explain.
imagine your favorite song. can you hear it playing in your head? my bet is that as long as your favorite composer is neither stravinsky nor britten (jk, dave), the song is pleasing to your ears. and why is the music beautiful? well, i am sure there are many reasons, but one very important aspect is that there are both 'positive' and 'negative' notes, i.e., play times and rest times. if the song were either playing or resting exclusively, then your ears would either tire from the many many notes, or not hear a sound at all. a balance between notes and rests is ideal and my bet is that the most pleasing ratio is 50:50. but i could be wrong. please comment if you think i am wrong.
now, what about getting dressed in the morning? are you one to put on a polka dotted shirt and striped pants with huge hoop earrings, 5 rings on each finger, cowboy boots, and a sailor hat? no, please, no. that would be waaaay too much positive space. maybe what would be best is to employ a little negative space here. pick your favorite of these items, and wear just the cowboy boots, or maybe one of the rings. then, make this item 'pop' by surrounding it with negative space. i.e., a monotone ensemble that compliments or contrasts the item on display.
and finally, please focus your attention on the photo above. can you distinguish the negative from the positive spaces? what is their ratio? would the photo be better if i had included more or less or either?
thats all. rock on and enjoy your negative space.
1 comment:
i compose a little (using a midi keyboard / guitar / anything i can find) and what you say totally resonates. negative space is as (if not more) important as the positive space. Usually working on instrumentals, When I feel a song getting boring, a very easy way to 'spice it up' is to introduce negative space - it helps increase the song duration, gives variation, and a sense of direction to the song. All this my doing nothing - just removing instruments sequentially, and adding them back! negative space almost gives a sense of purpose to the positive space!
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