The Wizardry of Odds
The visual preference for odd number of stimuli in a photograph was convincingly presented by the photographer Ted Forbes in his didactic video.
When transferred to another visual medium such as collage, the creative process is quite different than photography of existing subject.
In the feature image, reprised below, I show my first attempt at creating a three parts collage, to be followed with similar ones varying in geometric pattern and colour combination, but all based on Forbes’ “Rule of odds.”
First try using similar vertical shapes of differing colours on black background
First attempt at embedding one element in another
First attempt a shape differentiation on narrowing in black background
Exploring the drawing power of centrality
Testing the “rule of odds” by introducing a shadow background as fourth element
End image
Here is a reprise of first try with an attempt to bring in the background as a shadow version of the central element
Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maurice Amiel, M. Arch. (U.C. Berkeley) is retired professor of Environmental Design at the School of Design, University of Quebec at Montreal, where he was involved mainly in environment-behaviour teaching and applied research projects. In order to promote environmental awareness, he has turned after retiring to documenting and writing about various physical and human agents contributing to a sense of self, place and sociability ... I wish to add to my interests the fundamental role of light in photography and the visual structure of all 2D forms of artwork.
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