For my next research point I have tried to explore the importance of positive and negative space. I have done this by looking at a range of artists to see how they incorporate positive and negative spaces in their work.
The first artist I looked at was Gary Hume
Gary Hume is a contemporary English artist best known for his paintings of everyday objects.
His work often looks abstract and simple with little detail and large areas of flat colour.
One example of Gary Humes work is ‘Capital’
‘Capital’ is a screen print on paper that was produced as part of a portfolio of twelve other prints by British artists for the 2012 olympics and Paralympics.
In this work Gary Hume has abstracted elements from an image of a wheelchair- tennis player. He has included a selection of leaves and he has used a range of soft and subtle colours.
The big burgundy circle at the bottom of the page looks like the wheel of the player’s wheelchair and the black circle above looks like it could be the tennis ball.
Gary Hume believes that the most important aspects of his work are the edges, he wanted them to be clear and crisp and this is certainly evident in this work. With such crisp edges and such dominant colours and pale backgrounds Gary Humes use of positive and negative space is very obvious. In fact I think it is his use of negative space that makes his work so exciting. Because not only am I drawn to his painted objects but I am drawn to his plain backgrounds and the shapes that are made even more dominant.
The next artist I decided to look at was Patrick Caulfield.
Patrick Caulfield was a British painter and printmaker whose works show simple images and bold flat colours combined with different social and political images or messages.
I decided to look at Patrick Caulfields ‘Still life with dagger’ (1963)
This painting comprises of a mostly grey background with a top left hand square of dark blue. Geometric shapes seem to make up the vast majority of the negative space. Central to the piece is a drawing of a jug with an orange outline. On the handle of the jug is a set of beads with slightly more detail than the jug and on the right hand side of the piece is a more detailed dagger with what looks like a horses head as it’s handle.
The painting shows no visible brushwork and it has very little detail and the objects are simplified to a basic outline. These objects are also quite mundane. What does however make this work exciting though is it’s composition and use of space. I find that the lack of detail and simple outlines mean that the positive space blends into the negative space and there is no clear distinction of where the positive spaces begins and the negative space ends?
The next work I decided to look at was ‘Inside a Weekend Cabin’ (1969)
This piece shows the interior of a cabin with a bench, three stools and a table. The entire background scene of the cabin is painted brown and has no detail bar the black outline of the wood of the cabin and the bench and stools. On the table, in high contrast to the rest of the piece there is a bright white tablecloth. This immediately draws the viewers eye to the tablecloth.
This piece I think shows an element of architecture. And in my opinion makes for an exciting interior piece. However the vast amount of brown used in this piece creates an atmosphere of melancholy.
I love Caulfields use of negative space in his work, at first glance it feels awkward or wrong, but to me that is what makes it so exciting. I am not sure where the positive space is? Is it the table cloth? Is it the brown interior? I think his lack of detail and tone really enforce this feeling of confusion when it comes to its space and composition?
The final artist I decided to look at was Noma Bar. Noma Bar is an Israeli illustrator who is known for his use of simple outlines, minimal detail and flat colours. His work mostly carries double meanings that are created by his very clever use of negative space. His work often carries political or social messages and are often very thought provoking.
Noma Bars work relies on the negative space that surrounds the subject in order to provide shape and meaning.
The first piece of Noma Bars work that I decided to look at is called ‘Gun Crime’ this is an illustration of a flat black gun with no detail set against a flat beige/buff background. On the trigger there is a drop of red blood. Upon looking at this illustration a second time round it becomes apparent that Noma Bar has used his negative space around the gun trigger to create a sad face with blood coming out of his mouth. This really enforces the message of the effect of gun crime. In this instance Noma Bar has used his negative space to relay an important message and to give his work a double meaning.
The next piece of work I looked at is called ‘How fashion Loves Art’
This piece shows the face of a woman using only three flat colours, beige, black and red. Just like ‘Gun Crime’ Noma Bar uses his negative space to enforce the images meaning. When you look closer at the image you can see that the basic shapes of the woman’s features are actually made up of art materials or practices. The woman’s red lips are made up of a hand holding a paintbrush painting in her beauty mark. Her eye is actually a dripping paintbrush and her nose is an upside down clothes hanger. Again Noma Bar has made clever use of his negative space to create an exciting illustration with a double meaning.
The final piece of Noma Bars work that I decided to look at is called ‘Final Cut’ this is an illustration of a directors black cutting board set against a grey black ground with droplets of blood. Upon a second glance at this illustration it becomes apparent that through Noma Bars clever use of negative space that there is in fact a knife dripping with blood between the background and the cutting board. This could be used to symbolise the cut throat nature of the film industry? But either way Noma Bar has managed to create an eye catching piece of work by employing the untouched space surrounding the cutting board and turning it into a knife.
In conclusion I have discovered how positive and negative spaces play a vital role in determining the overall composition of a piece of art. I also discovered that In order to create a sense of balance across a drawing both positive and negative spaces share equal importance.
Bibliography:
Tom (Bored Panda Staff). (2012) Negative Space Art by Noma Bar. At:
Wikipedia. (2019) Noma Bar. At: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noma_Bar (Accessed 17/08/2019).
Webb, P. (2012) Patrick Caulfield – part 1. At: http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2012/07/patrick-caulfield-part-1.html?m=1(Accessed 17/08/2019).
Tate. (2019) Gary Hume Capital. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hume-capital-p13277 (Accessed 17/08/2019).
Artnet Artists. (2019). Gary Hume. At: http://www.artnet.com/artists/gary-hume/6 (Accessed 17/08/2019).
Sheerin, M. (2013) Patrick Caulfield and Gary Hume paired up for complementary shows at Tate Britain. At: https://www.culture24.org.uk/art/painting-and-drawing/art438003 (Accessed 17/08/2019).
RICHMAN-ABDOU, K. (2019) 40+ Striking Works of Art That Creatively Make the Most of Negative Space. At: https://mymodernmet.com/negative-space-art/ (Accessed 17/08/2019).
Caitriona 