Negative Space

Fiertel and I had quite a go-round about drawing, and in particular about "negative space."

Spent some time last night reading the "negative space" chapter of Betty Whatsername's book about Drawing on the Right Side, and I think now I understand your point of view.

I wish art theorists had come up with some better term than "negative space," which suggests ideas from physics that don't correspond at all to what they mean, which is "ground," as in "figure and ground." That's something I've known about for fifty years or so, and which I think I understand.

The examples the lady shows are also revealing. I now understand why you're so militant about close cropping, often using the borders to cut into the subject, and why you favor long lenses. Wide-angle lenses are clearly unfriendly to "negative space" and to outlines in general. The figure and ground get confused – con-fused, melted together – in a third dimension. Earlier I too used only long lenses, usually 85 to 105 in 35mm. Now I'm learning, or trying to learn, how to master the con-fusion of dimensions possible with shorter focal lengths.

BTW, I wish Betty wouldn't go on at such length about the two sides of the brain. I'm starting to feel guilty about being right-handed and knowing more than a few dozen English words. She seems to imply that the ideal artist is Koko the Gorilla.

Also, the back of the book jacket features a pair of self-portraits done by one of her students, the first a cartoony childish one done before starting the course, the second a much more artful one done after two days of instruction. I much prefer the former.