On My Drawings and Paintings: An Extension of the System of Their Classification

Leonardo

On My Drawings and Paintings: An Extension of the System of Their ClassificationAuthor(s): Paul RéSource: Leonardo, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Spring, 1981), pp. 106-113Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1574401 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 00:04

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

The MIT Press and Leonardo are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toLeonardo.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.157 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 00:04:53 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=mitpress

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1574401?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


Leonardo Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 106-113. 1981. Printed in Great Britain.

0024-094X/81/020106-08$02.00/0 ? Pergamon Press Ltd.

ON MY DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS: AN EXTENSION OF THE SYSTEM OF THEIR CLASSIFICATION

Paul R6*

Abstract-After considering alternative systemsfor classifying the basic shapes in his drawing and paintings, the author proposes additions to the classification system he presented in hisfirst article in Leonardo. One addition involves a specification of the way in which V-, T- and X-intersections in shapes in the pencil drawings are shaded. Another addition makes use of the Ostwald color system to specify the one, two or three colors employed in the paintings. Also he discusses 'contradictory' aspects of shapes in his drawings and presents a subclassification based upon whether or not the shapes can represent possible 3-dimensionalforms. In conclusion, he discusses how two classes of shapes in his drawings can be transformed into forms in bas-reliefs and raised-line embossings. He closes with a commentary on the interpretation of his works.

I. CLASSIFICATION OF BASIC SHAPES

In my first article published in Leonardo I presented examples of my drawings and paintings and a system for their classification [1]. Each of these works is based on a basic shape that is derived from one or more closed curves. In the classification system, each work is designated by four numbers: I, (the number of closed curves employed in deriving the basic shape) and 12, 3 and 14 (the number of line intersections of each of three types, V, T and X, respectively, in the basic shape).

I realize that my choice of system is not unique. For example, I have considered Euler's theorem in graph theory, that states that, for a connected planar graph with v intersections and g connecting lines that partition a plane into r regions: v - q + r = 2 [2, 3]. My 67 classified basic shapes (except 11-7, III-1 and III-9) are connected planar graphs [1, Figs. 1, 2]. For the 64 shapes I find that v = I2 + 1 + I, q = 12

3 1 + 2 I3 + 2 14 and r = 2 + I3 + I4. Thus, as

classification criteria, the set (v, q, r) is equivalent to the set (12, 13, 14). However, implicit in my use of 13 and I4 is knowledge about branch continuity at T- and X-interesections, while use of Euler's parameters does not imply anything about the continuity of branches. Thus the set (I2, 13, 14) gives more descriptively useful information than the set (v, q, r).

My classification system is made more specific by the inclusion of the parameter II, which gives 3- dimensional information, because I visualize in space forms to which the basic shapes apply. In some cases I made models of forms from pipe cleaners before executing the corresponding paint-

*10533 Sierra Bonita Ave., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111, U.S.A. (Received 8 Jan. 1980)

ing or drawing (for example, 'III-12: Coil' (Fig. 6)). I will gladly supply further information about classification based on Euler's parameters to those interested.

II. CLASSIFICATION OF SHADING IN BASIC SHAPES (DRAWINGS)

In the case of the pencil drawings I have found a way to make their classification more specific by introducing the criterion of intersection shading to add to the four criteria I I, 1I, I3,4. I require that, at each branch of an intersection, one side of the line (branch) be shaded darker than the other side in order to delineate the boundary. Thus at a V- intersection, four kinds of shading are possible; at a T-intersection, eight; at an X-intersection, 16. These 28 kinds are presented in Fig. 1, where the shading employed indicates on which side of a branch in a drawing the shading is darker.

I group together in blocks (Fig. 1) those kinds that are equivalent if the angle between successive noncontinuous branches is changed and/or if a mirror reversal of the whole intersection shading diagram is made. This reduces the essential total number of shading types for all 3 kinds of intersections to 10. Each block is indicated by a designation such as Va or Xd. Tables I and II show that I have employed all the shading types except Ta in drawings. However, a number of sketches exhibiting type Ta shading are in my notebooks, awaiting to be executed as full-scale drawings. Note that shading type Va corresponds to a tonal inversion, discussed earlier [1, Fig. 10]. The percentage occurrence of each shading type in completed drawings is as follows: Td: 31%; Va: 26%; Tc: 23%; Tb: 9%; Xd: 4%; Xc: 2.5%; Xb, Vb, X, and Ta: under 2%.

106



V,V v,,V

Ta

Tb

'T' '- LL

Tc

Td

x_a __I___ ___Xd

XX XX xb

xx'xcxx Fig. 1. Diagram of intersection shading types in pencil drawings.

I sometimes think of each of these drawings as an organism in which the basic shape is the skeleton and the shading types are the muscles. Starting with the basic shapes in Figs. 1 and 2 of Ref. 1 and Tables I and II of this article, I find it intriguing to try to reconstruct the drawings and to compare the results with the shaded basic shapes in Figs. 2 and 3. Although a basic shape and shading type do not completely define a drawing, they do limit it significantly. In a way, they are like a musical

On My Drawings and Paintings: An Extension of the System of their Classification 107

Table I. Intersection shading types in the closed-curve drawings.

Dolphins)

Penguins"

C Snake'

I11-5: Dolphin7

II-7: Bean

tIV-1: Use'

IV-2i

'IV-3'

'IV-4'

IV-6'

IV-ll

IV-13l

$IV-14: Eyes

IV-15: Flame

'IV-17l

IV-19t

4IV-20: Sun and Moon'

IV-21: RI

iIV-22: Double Eight)

IV-23J

2Va, 2Tb, 5Tc, 9Td

6Tb, 6Tc

3Tb, 2Tc, 3Td

2Tc

no intersections

4Td, Xc

Tc, 3Td

2Xd

2Td, Xc

2Td, Xb

2Va

2Td, Xc, Xd

2Tc, 2Td

4Va

2Va

lOVa

4Va, 2Td

Va, Tc, Td

4Td, 2Xd

4Va

2Va, 2Vb, 2Td

IV-28: The Auk and the Egg' 2Va, Xa

2Va

notation; as in music, much lies beyond notation. Although the shading at an intersection is of a basic type, more subtle qualities of the toning produce an overall balance, for example in Figs. 4 and 5 where the shading types are (2Td, Xc) and (4 Va), respectively.

III. CLASSIFICATION OF COLORS OF BASIC SHAPES (PAINTINGS)

Shown in Fig. 6 are the basic shapes employed in paintings with indications of differently colored areas. These paintings contain an 'island' in one, two or three colors surrounded by a 'sea' of white (titanium white). Some islands have an internal lake of white, as in '111-4: Madonna' [1, Fig. 4, cf. color plate]. These white areas have a very subtle rippling texture. In Fig. 6 three different colors are indicated by diagonal lines rising to the right, diagonal lines rising to the left and vertical lines, employed in the order of decreasing area covered. The texture of the colored areas is reminiscent of iron filings on a sheet of paper in a magnetic field; it gives these areas a feeling of more depth. A reproduction of the three-color painting '111-9: Front and Back' is shown in Fig. 7 (cf. color plate); the painting 'III-4: Madonna', mentioned above, is in two colors.

IV-29: Bonel



Table II. Intersection shading types in the open-curve drawings.

Deer

II-1: Knot,

'11-2: WaveO

(II-3: Triple Loop1

II-4: Tree'

II-6: Open Book'

'11-8: Tomato'

'II-9: Landscape'

4II-10: Grasshopper

'II-11: Plum,

cIV-7

'Iv-9 '

tIV-10'

tIV-121

'IV-16: Dictionary Piece

IV-18: PineI

'IV-25'

LIV-26I

(IV-27 '

2Td

Tb, 2Tc, Td

3Tb, 3Tc

3Tc, 3Td

Vb, Tc

Td

2Tc

2Tc

3Tc

Tb, 2Td

2Tc

2Tc

2Td, Xb

Xb, Xc

Va

2Td

2Va

Va, Td

3Va

2Td, 2Xd

2Va

ir-5 -7 z'-I iZ-2

I7- 3 IZ- 4 17 6 x- I I

I 1

37-13 1 - 14 3Z'-I 15 Z- 17

'Z-19 3Z-20 13-21 I'-22

13- 3 3'-2Z4 3-28 I2-29

Fig. 2. Shaded closed-curve basic shapes in pencil drawings.

(*For the purpose of designating shading types in drawing 'IV-9', the drawing can be considered to be the limiting case of a drawing in which there are two vertical stems each leading into a loop; in

'IV-9' the two stems have been merged into one.)

Figure 6 includes the color-coded basic shapes for three paintings ('III-7', 'III-19' and '111-23') that correspond to the shaded basic shapes used in three pencil drawings ('IV-22', 'IV-1' and 'IV-14', respectively) (Fig. 2). Some of the differences between the paintings and drawings having identical line struc- tures can be appreciated by comparing each of the three paintings with the corresponding drawing. Included in Fig. 6 is the basic shape for '111-2: Moon Tear' (1, 0, 4, 0); it was not included in Ref. 1.

Helen Thomas' article, Application of the Ostwald Color System in My Painting [4], introduced me to the Ostwald color system recently. I realized then that the system could be used to classify the two or three colors employed in each painting. I refer interested readers also to Ostwald's book, The Color Primer [5] and to the Color Harmony Manual (3rd Ed.) by Jacobsen, Granville and Foss, which contains a set of 973 removable hexagonal color chips that have been selected and classified accord- ing to a plan based on the Ostwald color system [6]. The earlier editions contain 680 colors: 24 monochromatic (constant-hue) color triangles (numbered 1 to 24) each with 28 color chips with varying amounts of black and of white; plus eight chips for

11-1 ir-2 1-3 I1-4

I1-6 I-8 r-9 - 10

11-11 17-5 3-7 37-8

1V-9 I3-IO I3-12 32-16

3- 18 3Z-25 I3-26 - 127

Fig. 3. Shaded open-curve basic shapes in pencil drawings.

108 Paul Re



On My Drawings and Paintings: An Extension of the System of their Classification

Fig. 4. 'IV-4: Longhorn', pencil on paper, 55.5 x 64.5 cm, 1976. (Photo: P. Re and Albuquerque Color Lab., Albuquerque, N.M.,

U.S.A.)

Fig. 5. 'IV-15: Flame', pencil on paper, 61 x 53.5 cm, 1977. (Photo: P. Re and Albuquerque Color Lab., Albuquerque, N.M. U.S.A.)

the achromatic (gray) series. The 3rd Edition contains, in addition, monochromatic color triangles numbered corresponding to the following half-step hues: 1 2, 6/2, 7/2, 12/2, 13/2 and 24/2.

Using the color chips in the Manual [6], I have been able to identify colors in each painting and thereby to specify both the hue number and a letter notation designating position in the corresponding monochromatic triangle. And, with the use of the Descriptive Color Names Dictionary [7], which

n-if I -3 m-4 m-s

m-6 m-8 m-9 m-io

m-l Im -12 m-13 m-l'-

-is m-16 I --17 m-l8

r -20 n-21 I -22 m -2Z

m-2- 7 mI-19 i -z3

Fig. 6. Basic shapes in paintings with indication of differently colored areas.

accompanies the Manual, I have been able to find a name recommended by the authors. In Table III, I have recorded the identification number for each painting and, for each color in a painting, the color name, the hue number and the letter notation. Wherever a painting was done in two or three colors (in addition to white), the colors are listed in the order of decreasing area covered (cf. Fig. 6). In some cases a color that I used fell about midway between two color chips. For example, in painting 'III-21', the violet used was between chips 13 pa and 13 na; I designated this color 13 oa. In painting 'III- 8', I used a vermilion between 5 pa and 6 pa; I designated this color 5/2pa. In the remaining cases, I designated a color by the chip color nearest to it.

Each of the colors I used lies on a monochromatic triangle within the trapezoidal region defined by locations pa, p, n and na (cf. Refs. 5, 6 or Fig. 1 of Ref. 4). The Ostwald color solid is a double-cone defined by the array of monochromatic triangles all joined along the vertical gray axis (black to white). My colors are located in a shell within one standard Ostwald step from the outer surface of the lower

109



Table III. The names of the colors in the paintings and the Ostwald Color System classifications of the colors.

flIII-1

III-2'

(lamp black p)

(lamp black p, royal blue 13 pa)

'III-3* (bright green 22 pc, royal blue 13 pa)

'III-4' (royal blue 13 pa, violet 12 pc)

111-5' (tangerine 5 pa, vivid green 23 pa)

'III-6 (bright yellow 2 pa, cocoa brown 5 ni)

III-?' (chestnut brown 4 ni, royal blue 13 pa)

'III-8' (royal blue 13 pa, vermilion 56 pa)

'III-9> (bright marigold 3 pa, royal blue 13 pa, bright green 22 pe)

'III-O1' (bright marigold 3 pa, bright green 22 pe)

'III-11 (chocolate brown 4 pn, vermilion 6 pa)

II-12' (royal blue 13 na, mint green 22 pg)

III-13' (bright marigold 3 pa, bright green 22 pe, rosewood brown 5h ni)

'III-14' (tomato red 6) pc, brown-black 4 po)

'III-15' (bright green 22 pe, deep cocoa brown 5 ok, royal blue 15 pa)

'111-16l'

'111-17'

(coral red 6 oc, orange-marigold 35 pa)

(tomato red 6) pc, bright green 22 pe)

(III-181 (coral red 6 oc, dark spice brown 4 pl, orange-marigold 33 pa)

'III-19 ( (copper brown 5 oh, bright yellow 2 pa, royal blue 13 pa)

II1-20' (bright yellow 2 pa, vermilion 6 pa, bright green 22 pe)

'III-21' (violet 12 oa, royal blue 13 oa, bright blue 14 oa)

'III-22t (poppy red 6) pa, bright yellow 2 pa)

'III-23' (royal blue 13 pa, bright green 22 pe)

'III-24' (vermilion 6 pa, bright green 22 pe, bright yellow 2 pa)

cone. In addition, usually the colors I used are widely separated in hue from each other within this shell. Two notable exceptions are in the paintings '111-4: Madonna' (cf. Fig. 4, color plate, in Ref. 1) and 'III-21:80'. Most of the colors I used lie near the equator of the color solid. However I did make extensive use of browns (for example, cocoa, chestnut, chocolate, rosewood, spice-brown, and brown-black), which are near the south pole of the color solid.

While producing the paintings, I made many color sample tablets on 10 x 15 cm pieces of ragboard, with each sample identified by the acrylic paints and their amounts used in preparing the mixture. This enabled me to select colors precisely and to reproduce them easily. Sometimes, I chose a color combination before designing a basic shape, as in the case of the blue and green in 'III-3'. But generally, I decided on a shape first. The shapes and the colors are determined with much care in order to produce what I judge is the optimum aesthetic effect.

I did the series of 24 paintings between 1974 and 1976, four years before I became aware of the

Ostwald color system. Indeed, I have had no formal training in art, but I do have a university degree in physics. Before I made these paintings, my favorite colors were earth and autumnal colors. But while painting this series, I gradually learned to appreciate the range of colors of high purity, both alone and in pleasing combinations. This I believe reflected a growth in my personality; my awareness of colors and my inner joy increased. Readers may be interested in taking the personality test of Max Luscher, which is based upon color preference [8].

IV. SUBCLASSIFICATION FOR SHADED BASIC SHAPES (DRAWINGS)

John Willats' article in Leonardo treats the depiction of smooth forms in some drawings and paintings that Paul Klee made during the period 1939 to 1940 [9]. Following the analyses of A. Guzman [10] and of D. Huffman [11], which deal with rules underlying line drawings of smooth forms, Willats found that almost all the lines in these works represent the bounding contours of smooth forms. The termform is used for an object

110 Paul Re




involving three dimensions, while a shape involves two dimensions. In the analyses, a smooth form was considered to be one having a surface free from discontinuities such as sharp edges, sharp wrinkles and puckers. After reading my first article [1] and an early draft of sections I and II of this text, Willats commented upon the 'impossible' or 'contradictory' aspects in both the line and shading of my drawings as used for expressive effect. He found in this use an interesting extension of a tradition practiced, notably, by the cubists and by Klee. Klee once stated: 'I have carried out many experiments with laws and taken them as a foundation. But an artistic step is taken only when a complication arises' [9, 12]. Below I consider the use of 'contradictions' in my drawn shapes.

In none of the pictures analyzed by Willats had Klee used the technique of tonal modeling. How- ever, Klee's use of color indicates on which side of a line a surface lies. In the shapes in my pencil drawings, delicate shading gives many important clues about 3-dimensionality. So in my analysis that I describe below I consider the manner of shading as well as the basic shape.

Figs. 2 and 3 show the shaded basic shapes of 40 drawings. In a finished drawing, the basic shape is not visible as a line drawing; it is shaded smoothly into one of the regions bounding it. This is clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and also in Figs. 3 and 9 of Ref. 1. In most of the drawings whose basic shapes are represented in Fig. 2 there is graduated shading from light gray at the mat boundary to white at the outside boundary of the enclosed shape. In some drawings a kind of glow surrounds the shape completely (for example, '11-7' and 'IV-13'); in others it bounds the shape only partially (for example, 'IV-11' and 'IV-24'). In Fig. 3 all but five shapes provide examples of the latter. In the completed drawings the subtlety of such shading is an important aspect.

In my analysis my aim was to determine which of the drawings could represent possible forms. I dropped Huffman's 'smooth' requirement for forms and allowed raised or impressed points, sharp-edged convex ridges and concave valleys whose cross section is a sharp V. For example, drawing 'IV-22' may represent two objects each meeting the other at two of its raised points. Also I used a labeling scheme for surfaces that differs from the one adopted by Huffman, one more specifically suited to my drawings, yet convertible to his.

The scheme can be explained readily with the aid of examples shown in Fig. 8. I employ the term region to designate a continuous area bounded by lines or by lines and by the mat edge. In the case of basic shape IV-4, there are three regions within the shape and one region surrounding it. In both shapes 11-5 and IV-5 there are three continuous areas, hence three regions.

The shading employed indicates whether a region may be taken to depict a surface. In Fig. 3 basic shape IV-26 clearly depicts four surfaces and a region that is not a surface. In Fig. 8, the

0

9- 5 x- IoI

04-l 5 ~ 19-2 1

17- I 5 2

Fig. 8. Examples of labeling of regionsfor nine shaded basic shapes. Group II shapes lie to the left, and Group I shapes to the right, of

the double line.

corresponding regions are labeled + for surface and o for a nonsurface. Shapes IV-4 and IV-12 are shown as other examples. These three examples are classified in what I call Group I; they represent 'possible' forms.

In some instances the shading cannot represent an object in three dimensions. This is the case when a region, labeled by + (surface) in one part of the region, is also necessarily labeled by o (nonsurface) in other parts of the same region. Such examples are classified in Group II; six examples representing impossible forms are shown in Fig. 8.

I have made clay models for which the shaded basic shapes of Group I serve as 2-dimensional representations. On the basis of these, I have subdivided Group I into Group Ia and Group Ib. Drawings with Group Ia shaded basic shapes represent a complete object or island. They are closed-curve drawings and include: 'II-7'; 'VI-1,2,4, 13, 14, 22'. The clay models corresponding to 'IV-1, 2, 4, and 14' contain valleys whose cross section is a pointed V (Fig. 2). The lines of the basic shape represent the path of these V-shaped valleys and the boundary profile between the object and the surroundings.

Group Ib shaded basic shapes represent a portion of an object. For example, the drawing having the shaded basic shape II-8 depicts, perhaps, an Italian pear tomato resting on a horizontal plane (only partly shown) (Fig. 3). Group Ib includes II-1, 2, 3, 8; IV-3, 8, 12, 26. All are open-curve basic shapes, except IV-3. Note that, if the two lobes in IV-3 are brought closer together so that they partially overlap and the two internal line segments are

111



removed, the basic shape of IV-14 is obtained. Whereas drawing 'IV-14' is shaded primarily inside the basic shape, work 'IV-3' is shaded primarily outside. This reversal of shading produces drawings of very different character. Groups Ia and Ib clay models can be viewed from either front or back, although the front view is generally more interesting and pleasing to me. In each model one can trace the lines of the basic shape.

Similarly, Group II is subdivided into Groups IIa and IIb. Shaded basic shapes in Group IIa contain at least one V-intersection with a tonal inversion; this is the source of the 'contradictions' in drawings. Group IIa includes both closed and open-curve basic shapes, namely, IV-10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29. While one cannot make a sculptural model representing such a shaded basic shape, one can make a bas-relief, one might say a '22-dimensional' representation. (Group Ia and Ib basic shapes can all be represented by bas-reliefs.) One begins by letting portions of regions designated o be locally flat and those portions of regions designated + be locally convex (Fig. 8), as in forming 'IV-11: Embryo' out of a flat sheet of moldable material. The lower portion of the inner region would be a convex bubble, rising above the flat region bordering it. The upper portion of the inner region would be flat and surrounded by a convex ridge in the bordering region. The vertical centerline cross section of such a bas-relief is shown in Fig. 9b, facing to the left.

The shaded basic shapes in Group IIb, unlike those in Group IIa, do not contain a V-intersection with type Va shading. In this group, the inversion comes about through the use of either a single horizon (11-4, II-6, II-10, II-11 and IV-9) or an associated pair of T-intersections (II-5, 11-9, IV-5, IV-6 and IV-7). In the latter set, each corresponding drawing contains a bridge that occludes a continuous line passing beneath it. A tonal inversion occurs either within this bridge at the two T-intersections (11-5, 11-9, IV-5 and IV-7), or it occurs beneath it

a b c d

Fig. 9. The vertical centerline cross sections (b, c and d) of three bas-reliefs inspired by drawing 'IV- I: Embryo' whose basic shape

is shown in a.

and is associated with the occluded line (IV-6) (Fig. 2). Beginning with a Group IIb basic shape, one can also make a bas-relief.

V. SOME APPLICATIONS AND COMMENTS

Making models corresponding to shaded basic shapes has encouraged me to consider making bas- reliefs, in particular. The pattern discussed in connection with Fig. 9b is an example. Equally, another interesting pattern may be taken from the rear view, facing to the right in Fig. 9b. One may also consider starting with basic shape IV- 1 but altering its shading. For example, one might keep the outside region flat, with the lower portion of the inner region a convex bubble and its upper region a concave bubble (Fig. 9c). Or one could make the lower portion of the inner region a convex bubble with the outside region surrounding it flat and then make the upper portion of the inner region flat, surrounded by a concave 'ditch'. At some distance from the central basic shape, the surrounding region would become flat (Fig. 9d).

I have been working with raised-line paper embossings of the basic shapes since the end of 1979. Not only do I find they are pleasing to be seen but also to be touched. I have sent sample embossings of basic shapes to the Mary Duke Biddle Gallery for the Blind at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC, U.S.A., in order to learn how the blind respond to them. The Gallery has exhibited objects ranging from African masks and Pre-Columbian artifacts to contemporary pottery and sculpture, which have interested many of the blind [13]. But they have not yet found 2- dimensional artworks that are meaningful. For example, the incisions in the wood used to make wood-block prints have been found to be too subtle. However, I believe that the boldness of the raised lines and simplicity of the basic shapes used in my embossings will prove to be effective. Jen Wilson, curator of the Biddle Gallery, plans to start an in- school art awareness program at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh. It is in that setting that she plans to test the use of my embossings. I will gladly furnish raised-line embossings of basic shapes to those wishing to test using them with the blind. I wish to add that it is possible to develop a color-texture correspondence that would be intelligible to those blind who lost their vision after birth and still retain a memory of colors. The addition of texture to the line embossings of these paintings may also make them more meaningful to the blind.

In the pencil drawings showing Group II basic shapes, the existence of surface and nonsurface aspects within a region points to an important part of my working philosophy. I do not think of different regions of such a drawing as representing different substances, such as soil, air, sky and water. But rather, I view a work as representing something composed of a single substance. For example, in drawing IV-6, the sailboat, the sea and the sky are

I

112 Paul Re




blended into a single entity. Specifically, I consider any of these drawings as a representation of a field of light, a reflection of my seeing a single, unifying thread running through the diverse multitude of things in life. The pencil drawings are my way of saying graphically: 'All are one'. Furthermore, the derivation of the basic shapes from closed curves is, to me, an expression of the continuity of life.

Closely related to the possible-impossible aspects of these drawings, is their degree of nonfigurative representation. Some do, indeed, look like familiar things, for example the shape II-7 suggests a bean, and IV-4, the head of a long-horned steer. 'IV-7: Goatscape' suggests a bighorn (sheep), an elephant or a swan, while 11-5 suggests three dolphins or a flying goose passing the Moon's crescent. I find the multiplicity of referents very appealing.

I think it is important to view my works in different orientations. For example, paintings 'III- 6' and 'III-14' can be viewed equally successfully with any side as bottom; each orientation produces a different feeling of movement (Fig. 6). 'III-14' is like a tulip blossom, but inverted it is like a rocket or a figure in ballet executing a pirouette. When pencil drawing 'IV-21: R' is turned onto its right side, it looks like a whale (facing right) or a turtle (facing left). And the grasshopper in the drawing 'II-10' becomes a wave when it is turned onto its right side. Upright, 'IV-18' resembles a pine tree, but turned onto its left side it becomes a seascape. As presented in Fig. 2, 'IV-22: Double Eight' seems to me like a landscape in southwestern U.S.A. But when it is turned onto its right side, some see two embracing figures. Similarly, when painting 'III-17: Alpha' is

turned upside down, again some see two figures embracing. If readers see gestalts in my works other than those mentioned above, I would welcome a letter from them.

REFERENCES 1. P. Re, My Drawings and Paintings and a System for Their

Classification, Leonardo 13, 94 (1980). 2. S. Anderson, Graph Theory and Finite Combinatorics

(Chicago: Markham Publishers, 1970) p. 33. 3. M. Ghyka, The Geometry of Art and Life (New York:

Dover, 1977) p. 40. 4. H. Thomas, Application of the Ostwald Color System in

My Painting, Leonardo 13, 11 (1980). 5. W. Ostwald, The Color Primer: A Basic Treatise on the Color

System of Wilhelm Ostwald, Faber Birren, ed. (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1969).

6. E. Jacobsen, W. C. Granville and C. E. Foss, Color Harmony Manual, 3rd Ed. (Chicago: Container Corporation of America, 1948).

7. H. Taylor, L. Knoche, and W. Granville, Descriptive Color Names Dictionary (Chicago: Container Corp. of America, 1950).

8. M. Luscher, The Luscher Color Test, I. Scott, trans. and ed. (New York: Random House, 1969).

9. J. Willats, On the Depiction of Smooth Forms in a Group of Paintings by Paul Klee, Leonardo 13, 276 (1980).

10. A. Guzman, Decomposition of a Visual Scene into Three- Dimensional Bodies, in Proceedings of the Fall Joint Computer Conference (Washington, DC: Thomson Book, 1968) pp. 291-304.

11. D. Huffman, Impossible Objects as Nonsense Sentences, in B. Meltzer and D. Mitchie, eds., Machine Intelligence, Vol. 6 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1970) p. 295.

12. P. Klee, Notebooks, Vol. 1: The Thinking Eye, J. Spiller, ed. (London: Lund Humphries, 1961) p. 454.

13. C. W. Stanford, Jr., Art for Humanity's Sake: The Mary Duke Biddle Gallery for the Blind (Raleigh, N.C.: 1976).

113



in in in in in

i

.... ....

i:

i

.... ....

i:

i

.... ....

i:

i

.... ....

i:

i

.... ....

i:

Top left: Jonathan Fish. Colour adaptation box, perspex, wood, 30 x 20 x 20 cm, 1970. (Fig. 7, cf. page 96)

Top right: Pavel Kuznetsov. 'Kirghizian Woman', oil on canvas, 85 x 59 cm, 1919. (Fig. 3, cf. page 141)

Center: Paul Re. III-9: 'Front and Back', acrylic paint on Masonite 34.5 x 60.5 cm, 1975. (Photo: K. Cornyn, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.) (Fig 7, cf. page 107)

Bottom left: Roberto Donnini. 'Immagina in Progress', collage, paper, wood (mahogany), 65 x 135 cm, 1974 (unfinished). (Fig. 2, cf. page 122)

Bottom right: Tariffe Raslain. Untitled, acrylic on canvas. 114 x 162 cm, 1979. (Fig. 5, cf. page 132)























Documents

On My Drawings and Paintings: An Extension of the System of Their Classification