Experiment Three: Composition

‘’Composition is the mortar of the wall, as drawing and color are its rocks of defence. Without it the stones are of little value, and are but separate integrals having no unity.’’ (Poore, 1903, p. 19)

The next area I have decided to explore is composition. In my illustrations I tend to focus primarily on the figure without thinking about the image as a whole therefore I feel that exploring different composition techniques will be a valuable area of research to further my skills.

I first looked at the traditional Japanese artist Hiroshige who focused on capturing the landscapes of his country. In his piece 'The Lake at Hakone' he has partitioned the different parts of the landscape into segments, which he has then made more prominent by using different colours to mark the change in distance. The gradient of the mountains creates a cascading effect, emphasising their height against the mountains in the background. Compositionally the placement is on the right, with the smaller mountains creating a balance to the opposite on the left, creating a harmonious balance.

Fig. 15 Hiroshige The Lake at Hakone (1833)

In contrast, Hiroshige's piece 'The Plum Garden in Kamedio' shows a close up of a tree's branches, creating an almost frame-like effect, as if peering through to see the subjects in the background. In this way the composition can be viewed as drawing focus to two different things: at first one may be drawn to the shape of the tree or one may be drawn to the figures in the distance which are framed by the branches. The gradient again helps to create depth and distance, whilst the dark tone of the branches stand out in contrast.

Fig. 16 Hiroshige The Plum Garden in Kameido (1857)

I also looked at the work of Kay Nielsen, who compositionally also uses segmentation in a similar way to Hiroshige. In Fig. 17, he employs the technique of balance, keeping the figure in the middle of the composition as the centre of focus. Nielsen has created a dark ground for the foreground, which contrasts to the shapes of the landscape in the background. The trees also help create a sense of the distance between the background and foreground.

Fig. 17 Kay Nielsen, Then he took her home (1914)

Continuing with the idea of using shapes in composition, in Fig. 18 Nielsen employs the use of an arch around the main figure, emphasising the light of the moon to draw focus upon the figure. The piece also shows a balance of the figures on the right with the dark, distance forest in the background. They are also the same height, adding a sense of harmony within the image. I find this technique of harmony very interesting to note as it is very effective in creating a striking and visually intriquing composition.

Fig. 18 Kay Nielsen, She held on tight to the white bear (1914) 

I also looked at the work of George Stubbs for his compositions of animals. In his piece, 'Horse Frightened by a Lion', he has placed the horse to the right of the composition, balancing the focus between the horse and the rocks to the left, carefully drawing your attention to the lion lingering in the background. He has also created a distinction between the foreground, the horizon and the background, much like Hiroshige and Nielsen.

Fig. 19 George Stubbs, Horse Frightened by a Lion (1763)

Furthering my exploration of composition, I found the photographs of Anne Brigman greatly interesting for their compositional aspects. In Fig 20, the composition has been carefully created to make the figure appear as though she has merged as one with the landscape. In addition Brigman has captured the figure to the left of the frame, balancing the positioning with trees on the right which again creates a very well considered image. In Fig. 21, she has again positioned the figure to the far side, I believe this is certainly a useful compositional technique in helping to create a focus point in addition to helping to portray a setting within the image, without compromising importance on the figure.

Fig. 20 Anne Brigman, The Sound of Blasted Pine (1869)

Fig. 21 Anne Brigman, Finis (1912)

For my experiment I chose to focus on segmenting the landscape into shapes in a similar way to Hiroshige and Nielsen, whilst portraying the form of the Okapi in a prominent placement to the right of the composition, inspired by Stubbs and Brigman. I felt this merging of two techniques has worked really well for creating a focus on both the Okapi and the background. I find segmenting the landscape into shapes a very useful way of tackling the differences between the background and foreground. I also tried to balance the placement of the Okapi by incorporating trees to the left of the composition and also placing the background hill in line with the Okapi's head to create a harmony of the different shapes. I feel exploring composition is a very useful way of transforming an image to help draw focus on the subject, whilst also creating a more dynamic illustration as a whole.

Composition Experiment