M x T x V x C1 x C2 x A \ F = Q
M= Material Essence Transcended
T= Time Duration of attention
V = Venue or even size of frame
C1= Commitment Demonstrated
C2= Concept or Feeling
A = Aesthetics (unity,variation,contrast)
All dissipated by F= Fear to invest beyond common levels.
The Venue in a drawing or relatively flat art work that is 20cm x 20cm is far different than one that is 90 x 130 or even larger. And this has everything to do with scale. Scale is not size although size is a factor of scale. The relative size of your marks relative to the size of the venue / frame or frame of reference always will always have much to do with whether we will attend longer than we thought we would and whether we will step towards and discover more and even sometimes whether we will feel commitment on the part of the maker. I say maker with every connotation that word might imply. Artist, Nature, God, science…etc.
However we got made and for whatever reason you have faith that today should be at least as good as yesterday made us with eyes that work in definable ways. The distance that we can read 3mm tall typeface is approximately 1 meter. Any further and identifying a smudge mark from a mark done with symbolic intention are largely the same.
We might even say that the material substance of the work changes such that we experience transcendence when we experience a shift in awareness as we drive, walk and lean closer to something of great interest.
We might think something we see from a quarter mile away is human made but on driving or cycling up we find it is doubtful that it’s human made and then when we get three meters away feel certain that it is nature made and then on stepping one meter away we finally believe or pause uncertain whether god or human, science, luck or all of the above are implicated.
An example of that is this simple pencil drawing by U of A Alumni Chantel Schultz.
It presents at an intimate distance relative to human scale…and it equivocates from being something nature-god-science made ( like frost on a window ) and human made right up and until you are millimeters from it…and then only when she tells me that it is hand done by pencil do I believe that reading I was equivocating on was true.
So, as you work between larger scale venue pieces of paper or plaza scale billboards or sculptures or design or draw for 20 x 20 cm or 20 x 20 mile venues, transcending the perception of not only the material but transcending the perception of the commitment and in this case even the concept changes because of scale.
Lastly, use this formula at a tool to focus your mind on certain aspects over others.
Choose on variable and try to emphasize that aspect, then try the other and don’t forget that human scale and perception due to our scale is a great asset that you can use.
Have a great studio day!! With great respect, Roy