Negative Space

It’s interesting to me how Design terms can reflect life as metaphor. For example:  The term Positive/Negative space, also known as Figure/Ground in the picture plane of a drawing or painting, employs the ratio of space between figure and background to create various compositional elements.

“By understanding and manipulating the interaction of positive and negative areas, an artist is able to activate composition, making it more interesting and unusual.”

The relationship of negative to positive space changes dramatically in Michigan depending on the season.

Autumn’s bright colors are replaced by winter’s vast, open skies where figures begin to all but disappear, becoming smaller and darker, silhouetted against the contrast of bright winter skies. Snow and sky merge together to form large spaces of emptiness.

This winter the negative spaces appear to me larger than usual.  As the holidays approach and winter moves in, I wonder what will figure into the composition of my life in the coming year. I’ve begun to put 2009 behind me as I let go of painful emotions brought on by a series of endings in my life: The ending of a marriage of 27 years, followed by my father’s death. The season and the events of the year inspire me to draw inward and reflect.

In the practice of yoga, part of the second of the Eight Limbs of Yoga, the Niyamas is called Svadhyaha: examination of the self. The seventh limb or step is Meditation. These combined actions of introspection and meditation stimulate the process of bringing up thoughts and emotions so they can be examined, sat with, and finally let go. Winter seems an appropriate time of year for making this inward journey; the season’s long, quiet and colder days naturally draw me inside.

Finding a clearer, more peaceful space the designer in me begins to surface.  I peer into the vast empty winter sky, and new feelings come into view. I feel better about the quiet expansive space of the season, because I know now that spring will arrive.  I, too, will emerge with new growth, complete with the small spurt of buds to prove it. My hibernation, my svadhyaha, over this season will help me see the positives, the new life, and the emerging figures against the blank, white negative spaces of winter.

Lines in the Sky
Over the summer I had the opportunity to spend some time in Chicago. The galleries there tend to be congregated within a contained area, which makes it easy to navigate to view art.

I visited the Schneider Gallery (http://schneidergallerychicago.com) to see an exhibit of one of my favorite photographers who has influenced my work, Luis Gonzalez Palma.  MoCP, the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College (www.mocp.org), had an interesting show as well, “Reversed Images: Representations of Shanghai and Its Contemporary Material Culture,” which is there through December 23.

From my hotel I photographed the skyline. I enjoyed my visits to the city; I even began to enjoy the five hours it takes to get there by car. The drive gave me uninterrupted quiet time to be alone with my thoughts, a luxury we don’t always have these days. I’ll remember my time in the Windy City fondly, savoring the sweet memories.

Updates on the ‘F’ Word project
The ‘F’ Word Project is gaining momentum, thanks to some dedicated artists and curators. My friend and talented artist Julie McDonough came to me recently with an idea for a photo shoot which she calls “Forgive.” The shoot came together with the help of Tess Garoon, who did the hair and makeup and helped with the styling. Read more at http://juliemcdonough.wordpress.com

Monica Bowman, Director of the Butcher’s Daughter Gallery in Ferndale exhibited work by Lisa Marie Thalhammer, whose images bring up issues of gender, identity and power.  Read my review on the detroiter.com website. Monica Bowman is also planning a series of Saturday Salons in the gallery, and one will be devoted to discussion on the ‘F’ Word Project. Thank you Monica!

Plans are in the making for the creation of an online gallery posting essays, poems, photographs, paintings, sculpture, and video containing ‘F’ Word Project content. Stay tuned for more information on the ‘F” Word Project.  And please submit work and ideas to dalesparage@msn.com. I invite you to visit my website, www.dalesparage.com