Graphic design
fromMedium
18 minutes agoThe art of subtraction in a world of infinite features
Subtraction in visual arts enhances clarity and focus by intentionally removing elements that distract from the main subject.
They teach us how to make photo-like drawings. Such renderings look decent but also generic, conventional-like something an AI tool might produce. And they are boring. Why is that? Because they don't mean anything. Meaning An object, like a cup, can mean many different things to us. Now the question is: Which meaning is relevant to you right now? And the answer to this question is what makes your drawing interesting.
Even if you're just a casual jazz fan, you probably recognize "Take the A Train," Duke Ellington's swinging theme song. Or you've heard the melancholy ballad "Lush Life" sung by Nat King Cole, by Linda Ronstadt during her Great American Songbook era, or by Lady Gaga on the album she recorded with Tony Bennett. Both of those - and many other tunes - were written by a gay man, musician, composer, and arranger Billy Strayhorn.
A woman stands before a massive black wolf, their bodies aligned so precisely that the creature reads less as a separate entity and more as an extension of her silhouette. No tension exists between them. No drama of possession or escape. Mari positions the wolf head directly above the woman's own, along the same vertical axis, creating a visual grammar of doubling rather than confrontation. The relationship feels ceremonial, almost devotional, with the wolf serving as guardian rather than threat.
Often I'm thinking about the problem of articulating a surface in such a way that it forces the eye to move over the painting in a particular way. The eye can get blocked at junctions: elbows, knees, ankles, etc. So I look for paths that run across the form in order to connect them. I often deviate from anatomical accuracy in order to generate compositional tension. There are also details that command the eye with psycho(sexual) compulsion: lips, ears, nipples, fingertips, eyes etc. I will use the bulges and indentations of musculature as an inflection point to modulate the impact of those signifiers.
To the untrained eye, polished concrete and microcement flooring appear similar. Both of these hard floor surfaces are easy to clean, should withstand significant wear, and can lend a contemporary, industrial-tinted aesthetic to living spaces. Look more closely you'll start to notice significant differences between the two types of flooring, from their ease of installation and versatility throughout the home to their aesthetics and longevity.
When tackling object-oriented programming problems, one must choose between inheritance and composition, as each has distinct trade-offs. Composition often leads to more flexible and reusable code.
Remarking on how unusual it was to find a single previously unknown Satie work, let alone 27, Nye said: 'Most of us assumed that after all this time pretty much anything of any interest had already been published.'