Hi, there is quite an interesting web site here which gives an overview of the use of geometry in art: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/
This section has a brief discussion of frame shapes and a couple of examples of square framing from classical art: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/unit12/unit12.html --- Bob mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Saturday, December 29, 2001, 9:58:54 AM, you wrote: > Hi, > Never been to the Met, so I can't help you there. But you might like > to consider artists such as Vermeer, Kandinsky, Bridget Riley: these > are just three examples of people using a square frame picked at > random from books within arm's reach of where I'm sitting. Certainly > the square is less common than other rectangles, but it may be the > single most commonly used aspect ratio - all the other paintings in the > books I picked up seem to use different rectangles. This would be > because the artist chose the shape to suit the intended composition > then made up the canvas as required (or perhaps as directed by a > patron), rather than going out and buying an A1 canvas or some > standard dimension off the shelf. > The shape of the frame serves a purpose in composition. The square > tends to be a more secure, stable and balanced composition. Symmetry > is more obvious within a square, but asymmetry played against a square > format can have a stronger effect because it goes against the viewer's > expectations and leads to a contrast, which is one of the most > important elements of visual grammar. > Some subjects are well-suited to a square format. These tend to be > ones where there is no strong horizontal or vertical element in the > composition, such as abstracts, subjects with a static composition, > and those organised around the centre. > It may be that most people on this list have almost no square-cropped > photos, but that by itself is not an argument against square-format; > it just means we're used to looking through a 1:1.5 ratio. The fact is > that looking through the viewfinder dictates a certain way of seeing. I'd > think it's a good bet that people who've only ever used a square-format > camera have a very much higher proportion of square-framed photos. So > I don't think you've thought real hard, or said enough to make your > case. - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
