M.C. Escher was a proponent of this negative/positive art. Playing with this “graying” of the borders between black and white space, he also took on transformative space.
Donald Judd so eloquently and concretely expresses this concept in his sculpture, Stacks
With Marre Moerel, we made stacking shelves in my kitchen. Was Donald Judd’s sculpture our subconscious inspiration?
is ma a dance, a rhythm, a breath?
You and I know MA because we live it and breathe it. In yoga, we learn it is that almost invisible pause between our intake and out-take of breath. Good writers, speakers and dancers work with it, using it as the pause between the action.
This rhythm is going on inside us all the time: it is our heartbeat and it is our breath. How could we live without it?
It’s how we make our place – metaphorically, our dance in life. It is also our connection to life. Some people may not know the concept MA because they are too busy living it.
We may not consciously have it or at times feel we have lost it. We can develop our connection to it simply by making ourselves aware of it – aware of our connection to the universe. It is that basic. It is forgiving if we again lose sight of it. It lets us back in whenever we are consciously ready to receive it.
When we are designing we are not just filling a space with objects to make it
replicate a pretty picture. Instead, we are creating a flow around and between each object. The space that exists around the piece is as important as the piece itself. For this reason, it is important choose well proportioned furniture to live with.
My dear departed teacher, Rudolph Schaeffer would say composition takes in 2 perceptions; the dynamic rhythmic movement of the parts and the other the static immobility of the whole. This gives us balance.
A fine composition "breathes" rhythmically thereby quieting the mind.
If an object or piece of furniture does not work in one area, then we should find that sweet spot that contains it better. If too big, then that area might have to be grander to give it more space.
If nowhere works, but you love the piece and don’t have room to store it, share it. Hold in your thought that by doing so – either by selling it or giving it away - you are granting someone who has the space for it a gift and an opportunity to enjoy it as you have done.