Creating Harmony
Author unknown
Creating Harmony Through Contrast & Repetition: Throughout the millennia of human existence, people have sought to satisfy certain needs that enhance their experience of life. These needs manifest themselves in a desire for harmony. To achieve harmony in our lives and by extension in the art that we create, we seek a dichotomous balance between similar and dissimilar elements.
By using repetition (also called rhythm), we establish recurring elements that create calm and repose. By using contrast [also called variety], we introduce the thrill experienced through change and diversity.
Artists repeat similar elements to unify and tie things together, thus creating sameness that is familiar and soothing. Rhythmical uniformity, however, will result in boredom, if stressed to a great extent. For this reason we want to explore the excitement of the unexpected, ie, mystery. This comes in the form of contrast, which stimulates visual interest.
Anne Copeland, a fiber artist, said, “In the canvas of life, a flat landscape would be pretty boring. It is the valleys and the mountains that help us to appreciate the flatlands. It is the dark that makes us appreciate the light, and the cold that makes us appreciate the warm.” Robert Henri, an artist and art teacher, echoed this sentiment: “A curve does not exist in its full power until contrasted with a straight line.”
Ultimately, good design is a blend of repeating elements that unify and contrasting elements that provoke curiosity and attention. Contrast covers a wide range of possibilities that might include warm against cool colors, light versus dark tones, a rough texture seen beside a smooth surface, simplified areas played alongside complexity, a shiny surface aligned with a matte one, open structure adjacent to closed form, a bright color in opposition to grays, and so on.
Yet, if pushed too far, contrast creates confusion and instability. As the great painter Henri Matisse said, “The eye must not be fatigued by contrast.”
In evaluating a finished piece, consider the overall effect. Study it from different angles--up close, from a distance, even with the use of a photograph--in order to gain a fresh perspective. Ask yourself: Is it boring and in need of contrast, emphasis, or a focal point? Is there enough diversity to create a bold statement? On the other hand, is there too much going on, resulting in confusion and a lack of integrity so that more repetition or even simplification is needed? Matisse referred to harmony in his paintings in this way: “All that is not useful in a picture is detrimental. A work of art must be harmonious in its entirety; for superfluous details would, in the mind of the beholder, encroach upon the essential elements.”
During the creative process, we make endless choices. An underlying sense of the interplay between repetition and contrast provides helpful insights that enable us to review the strengths on which we can develop our ides as well as the weaknesses that may need to be resolved in order to achieve a more harmonious result.