Exploration: Black Square Problem
Our challenge this time was to create six designs that all expressed a different feeling using only black squares. I thought this assignment was particularly fun, because you all know how much I love getting to play around with ideas till I come up with something valid. I also thought this was an assignment that related well to my major, in that film is entirely dependent on your ability to visually express an emotion.
Firstly we had to emphasize a Congested feeling. I was thinking fairly literally on this one, with my mind rushing straight to a congested interstate coming home from school. But I decided to orient it diagonally, and represent cars in sporadic tiny black squares.
Next, I did Order. I didn’t want to just make a bunch of straight lines out of squares. So I decided to show order thorough staggered boxes, decreasing in size toward the center. I felt that the predictability gave a sense of order, while the variation retained enough balance without it getting boring. I usually try to avoid a central focal point, but given the distinction for order, it was a conscious decision. Plus, one could even argue that your eyes go immediately to the large black squares, particularly the top left since that’s where the action begins.
After order, I did Increase. I went fairly linearly with this thought, in that the squares increase in size as they approach the bottom right corner.
I’m particularly fond of my Bold piece. I thought once again, that a central focal point would be beneficial to express the idea, because what’s more bold than 2 big black squares smack dab in the middle of designs made up of small black squares?
When thinking of how Tension would manifest itself visually, I thought of scenarios that would make me feel very tense. Having just created a design that utilized small black squares to convey a horizontal sense of motion, and a congested piece reminiscent of a highway, I was in the motor vehicle state of mind. I thought of my drive to school from South Carolina every day, and how tightly I grip my wheel while crossing the bridge. And I realized nothing would make me more tense than the thought of going off that bridge. I didn’t want to completely recreate what that would look like in black squares, I wanted an abstracted version that made you feel similarly. I think what I came up with feels like a very tense crash.
Lastly, and on an entirely different note, I leave you with my Playful composition. I spent awhile appropriately playing with my playful piece, before I saw the moon in the sky from the window of the computer lab, right in the middle of the day. I ended up with a cute, fun, crescent-moon-like piece that used variation to keep it feeling very light.
As always, it was a highly enjoyable exploration!