Black Square Assignment

Composition 1: Denial

I based my two compositions around the Kubler-Ross model of the stages of grief, and centered my first piece around the first stage, denial. In this piece, I only placed the black paper at the top of the canvas to create an unbalanced composition and feeling. On the left is the silhouette of the person’s reflection, as well as an upside-down city and thunderstorm, representing a sense of disaster and disorientation. On the right is an amalgamation of randomly cut scraps, which uses Gestalt theory’s concept of closure to form the silhouette of the figure itself. The scraps of paper also represent the chaos and disorientation of grief. While the figure is standing up, its face, like the city, is also upside down — aligned with the orientation of the world around it. However, the figure’s eye is staring upward towards the blank space of the piece, rather than its concrete surroundings. The figure is in denial — ignoring the reality of the changed world around it and trying to focus only on what doesn’t exist.

Composition 2: Acceptance

In my second composition, I utilized many of the same elements as my first piece: mainly, the city, the depiction of weather, the face, and the smaller scraps of paper. In this piece, the city is no longer upside down, and the thunderstorm has turned to sunshine. The disorganized scraps of paper around the figure representing emotion is now part of the figure’s face and while still somewhat internally chaotic, now has a smooth flow. This flow uses continuity to draw attention to the figure’s face, which is now the center of the piece. The figure’s right eye has also joined with the sky, becoming the center of the sun. The placement of the face uses symmetry to again draw attention to it, pushing attention wholly towards the figure. Rather than being outside the figure, the city, sun, and paper scraps are now part of its face. So while the figure is still in the same environment and emotions, it has accepted them as part of itself and is now looking forward. 

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