Context

The passing of fall colours has pulled me away from my urban peregrinations and observations, to my more home adapted interest in 2D media formal composition. In reaction to the seven black pieces of the Tangram puzzle, I decided to transpose them to coloured paper as shown above, while keeping to the alignment technique between them.

Phase one: mixed alignment and overlapping of coloured pieces

Keeping all seven pieces of the complete Tangram set I proceeded to combine aligned and overlapping pieces as shown below … rather awkwardly I must say, in terms of composition.

Phase two: going from static to dynamic composition

Reducing the number of pieces aired up the first composition while retaining its static reference to the square figure as shown below.

This provided me the impulse to finally be free from that square reference and radically fly away from it, while keeping all seven pieces as shown below.

Phase three: keeping to an “optimum” compositional figure while experimenting various tri colours schemes

Reducing the number of colours to three allowed me to retain a compositional balance between figure and colour as shown below in my favorite two works of this phase.

Note how the “visual tonus” of each composition changes with the choice of colours.

Phase four: whereby I reversed my strategy, emphasizing the black square figure as ground and reducing the coloured elements to two

The square ground implied the use of a set pattern of Tangram pieces which had to be turned around to vary the visual composition, as shown in the next two works below.

In conclusion: whereby I reverse my visual strategy with a coloured ground and single black composition establishing piece

Enjoy … and happy new year to all!

Maurice

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Credit: All shown works were created by the author who is thankful to the Tangram game for the use of the basic game pieces geometry and for artistic inspiration.

Assurance: The aim of this article is to discuss a creative process; no pecuniary advantage is now, or will ever be, sought from this artistic endeavour.