Lesson Task 1/5 – Form and Space

Rearrange shapes cut out of paper, and try to find the point at which the figure disappears into the ground.

– Cut out a series of shapes from black paper – squares, rectangles, circles and random shapes – in a variety of sizes, from small to large.

– Working with a square piece of white paper, place shapes of different sizes into the white space; place them on the white one at a time and move them around.

– Try to find the point where the distinction between figure and ground becomes unclear. Does it depend on which shape dominates the space: black or white? Is it about the position of the shape within the space? Think about how important figure-ground relationships are within composition and design.

Here are my findings with the pictures of the progress:

I started to move around first random, but then I automatically went to put the figures in «order».

The placement is an important point to distinct when the figure and ground becomes unclear. The positioning, how close the shapes are, where they are placed on the paper and how they are placed with each other. How the black shapes where placed and if other shapes where created determined if the black dominated the white space.