Benjamin Jaffe Gallery
Chicago, IL
benjamin
Balance [ bal · ance ]
The word Balance is derived from the Latin word Bi lanx which means a two scaled balance used for measuring goods. If we begin with this definition we can understand that balance refers to measuring and equaling different parts of a whole. In the Visual Arts Balance refers to a state of apparent harmony between the elements within an artwork. Most often Balance refers to the overall composition, but it can also pertain to other elements such as the balance of the colors within a composition. There are three different kinds of balance. They are: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial. Symmetrical (or formal) balance is the most stable, in a visual sense. When both sides of an artwork on either side of the horizontal or vertical axis of the picture plane are exactly (or nearly exactly) the same the work is said to exhibit this type of balance. It is also a principle that deals with the visual weight of an artwork.
Great Pyramid and Sphynx at Giza
Formal Balance also known as Symmetrical Balance is achieved when two sides of an artwork appear to be the same as in the hand carved Tlingkit wooden chest below.
Thierry Le Goues is a French photographer with a background in Fashion photography. His series 'Soul' used a strong contrast between the dark skin of his models and a stark white almost empty background. In the print below an almost perfect symmetry is acheived in the models pose and the artist's choice of composition.
Assymetrical Balance, also called informal balance, is more complex and difficult to envisage. It involves placement of objects in a way that will allow objects of varying visual weight to balance one another around a fulcrum point. This can be best imagined by envisioning a literal balance scale that can represent the visual "weights" that can be imagined in a two dimensional composition. For example, it is possible to balance a heavy weight with a cluster of lighter weights on equal sides of a fulcrum; in a picture, this might be a cluster of small objects balanced by a large object. It is also possible to imagine objects of equal weight but different mass (such as a large mass of feathers versus a small mass of stones) on equal sides of a fulcrum. Unequal weights can even be balanced by shifting the fulcrum point on our imaginary scale.
In the painting Christina's world by Andrew Wyeth, the composition is balanced by assymetrical means. The girl is laying in the lower left hand side of the canvas while the farmhouse is placed in the distance to the upper right. Because the girl seems to be reaching toward the house, an imaginary connection is made between the two subjects and a balance is struck.
In the masterpeice 'Sleeping Gypsy' by Henri Rouseau an of center placement of the main subject creates a tension that tells us a story
Radial Balance is acheived when all the elements radiate out from a central point and the visual weight is distributed equally. Radial balance creates a strong focal point in the center of the design. Clock faces and daisies are examples of radial balance.
The artwork below by Navajo sand painting artist Alvina Begay is an example of Radial Balance.
The ceramic artwork below by Judy Chicago achieves a radial balance using a sculptural circular shape.
Perspective is a concept by which solid objects on a two-dimensional surface are rendered so as to give the impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other when viewed from a particular point.
Richard Estes uses an exagerated perspective to give us a sence of real space in his oil painting of Columbus Circle.
Foreshortening is a type of perspective created by rendering a specific object in depth. The artist records, the distortion that is seen by the eye when an object or figure is viewed at a distance or at an unusual angle. In photography, those parts of a figure that are nearest the lens will seem unnaturally large, those at a distance, unnaturally small.
Notice how the great Salvador Dali used foreshortening in his two religious iconographic paintings:
...and 'Ascension':
Before you begin decide if you are going for a subtle or dynamic presentation, then carefully choose how the elements of your composition will be laid out.
In the image above by my former student Erica Scott, a simple and delicate symmetrical balance is achieved by creating an identical composition from left to right.
In the photograph above by my former student Matīss Dāvids Strods, an informal balance is created by placing the fiure to the far left. By focusing the lens onto the raindrops in the foreground, the image achieves a melancholy balance using the entire space of the enviroment.
In the artwork above the student has combined and manipulated several images into a stained glass-like radial composition.
Benjamin Jaffe Gallery
Chicago, IL
benjamin