Design Basics - 7e - c 05.pdf

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David Lauer
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CHAPTER
5
BALANCE
INTRODUCTION 90
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Balance by Texture and Pattern 102
IMBALANCE
Horizontal and Vertical Placement 92
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Balance by Position and Eye Direction 104
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Bilateral Symmetry 94
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Analysis Summary 106
SYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Examples from Various Art Forms 96
RADIAL BALANCE
Examples in Nature and Art 108
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Introduction 98
CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC BALANCE
Allover Pattern 110
ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE
Balance by Value and Color 100
89
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INTRODUCTION
Funeral under Umbrellas (A) is a striking picture. What makes
it unusual concerns the principle of balance or distribution
of visual weight within a composition. Here all the fi gures and
visual attention seem concentrated on the right-hand side. The
left-hand side is basically empty. The diagonal sweep of the
funeral procession is subtly balanced by the driving rain that
follows the other diagonal. The effect seems natural and
unposed. The result looks like many of the photographs
we might see in newspapers or magazines.
A sense of balance is innate; as children we develop a
sense of balance in our bodies and observe balance in the
world around us. Lack of balance, or imbalance, disturbs us.
We observe momentary imbalance such as bodies engaged
in active sports that quickly right themselves or fall. We
carefully avoid dangerously leaning trees, rocks, furniture,
and ladders. But even where no physical danger is present,
as in a design or painting, we still feel more comfortable with
a balanced composition. The bookshelf designed by Josef
Albers (B) is lively in design as the shelves alternate in their
extension left and right. The overall pattern is balanced and
lends a sense of stability to the design.
Pictorial Balance
In assessing pictorial balance, we always assume a center
vertical axis and usually expect to see some kind of equal
weight (visual weight) distribution on either side. This axis
functions as the fulcrum on a scale or seesaw, and the two
sides should achieve a sense of equilibrium . When this
equilibrium is not present, as in C , a certain vague uneasiness
or dissatisfaction results. We feel a need to rearrange the
elements in the same way that we automatically straighten a
tilted picture on the wall.
A
Henri Rivière. Funeral under Umbrellas. c. 1895. Etching,
8 1 / 2 ”
17.7 cm). Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale
de France, Cabinet des Estampes.
7” (21.5
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CHAPTER 5 BALANCE | 91
B
Josef Albers. Bookshelf. 1923. Reproduction by Rupert Deese (1999). Baltic birch,
4’ 9 1 / 8 ”
5’ 8 3 / 8 ”
11 3 / 8 ”. The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.
C
An unbalanced design leaves the
viewer with a vague uneasiness.
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IMBALANCE
HORIZONTAL AND
VERTICAL PLACEMENT
artist. However, this does not mean there is no place in
art for purposeful imbalance . An artist may, because of a
particular theme or topic, expressly desire that a picture raise
uneasy, disquieting responses in the viewer. In this instance
imbalance can be a useful tool.
Balance—some equal distribution of visual weight—is
a universal aim of composition. The vast majority of
pictures we see have been consciously balanced by the
A
Philip Guston. Transition. 1975. Oil on canvas,
5’ 6”
6’ 8 1 / 2 ” (167.6
204.5 cm). Smithsonian
American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
Bequest of Musa Guston.
B
Keith Jacobshagen. In the Platte River Valley. 1983. Oil on canvas, 2’ 6”
4’ 8 1 / 4 ”. Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and
Sculpture Garden, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (gift of Wallis, Jaime, Sheri, and Kay in memory of their parents,
Joan Farrar Swanson and James Hovland Swanson, 1984.U-3729). Photo: © Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.
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