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The Role of Clarity and Relative
Clarity in Composition
5.1 General
The idea of clarity is based upon the principle that the individual
form rendering of each object does not leave the viewer puzzling
about its identity.
Leonardo DaVinci mentioned in his writings
that the most beautiful green occurred when the sun shone
through a leaf but the artist should never attempt to render
this effect as the beautiful colours would create strange
patterns and destroy the form. The overall shape of the cast
shadows from leaf clusters on a wall were not easily identifiable
as the leaf clusters shadows could be many different shapes
and thus did not have a distinct name other than shadows.
In other words leaf cluster shadows were categories of shapes
and this effect in nature (like many others) was declared
outside the realm of art.
Art and nature was seen as separate
entities only intersecting at certain points of form clarity.
Leonardo's 16th century rules of what constitutes
art in effect declares future generations of artists like
Rembrandt, the impressionists and others whom we accept as
creating art to be non-artists.
The idea of relative clarity which was to become a new artistic
vision was outside the understanding boundary of classical
artists.
5.2 Clarity (interpretative or psychological
clarity)
Although it appears as though we studied clarity under our
first category, linear to painterly, there is a subtle difference.
Linear dealt with the use of contour to clearly delineate
a shape and also render the contents of that shape. But tone
may also be used to describe the perimeter and contents of
a shape. Clarity has to do with the viewer correctly interpreting
the plastic form and it my be achieved by using lines or by
using tonal planes.
There is no room within the clarity concept for multiple or
individual viewer interpretations as every viewer should be
receiving exactly the same message.
Sometimes an artist accidently renders one form only to have
some viewer associate it with another form. For example: mountains
that look like female breasts, a cloud formation that looks
like a penis or a head. Suddenly the viewer can see nothing
else in the painting except this anomaly that causes a pictorial
clarity problem.
Not too long ago the newspapers recorded a story of catholic
believers seeing their mother of god's face reflected in an
office window. Neither the architect nor the manufacturer
of the window intended the material stresses within the glass
to render such a likeness. What was to be seen as a flat sheet
of glass integrated into the building style accidently resulted
in an aesthetic clarity problem and had to be removed.
5.3 Relative Clarity
An object sits partially in light with its shadow side blending
imperceptibly into its surroundings such that its boundary
is no longer defined. There is no doubt that artists who followed
the principle of absolute clarity in painting could see this
effect in the shadowy corners of their rooms. If they were
to paint such an object from real life then they were according
to the rule of object clarity reveal the hidden shadow edge
of the form by lightening it.
The sixteenth century had introduced
perspective which set the stage for pictorial depth through
scaling of objects along converging diagonals to be accepted
as a normal method of picture making. The seventeenth century
brought a new more naturalistic vision. Those partially lit
objects in shadowy corners could be painted as they appeared
to the eye.
Leaf cluster shadows cast on walls were allowed but they were
not allowed to disturb the flatness of a wall. Two ideas were
presented simultaneously the flatness or curvature of an object
and leaf cluster shadows provided the leaf cluster shadows
did not destroy the form clarity.
Corners of rooms were allowed to be
bathed in shadow and did not have to show the corner rendering.
The main object could be made with greater clarity than subordinate
objects.
Relative clarity allowed for a more naturalistic rendering
and would eventually evolve into experiments in pure materials
texture with no concern for object clarity.
5.4 Example
Using our Source Book: Thoughts on the North by Bruno Cote:
turn to the graphic on page 9.
The little houses give us the impression
of an isolated fishing village. The white patches we normally
interpret as snow. The Red mass we are not sure of its identity
but we accept its existence.
The green patch we assume to be water but it is the beach
area around the green patch that shifts causing us to see
the green patch as the grassy top of a hill. This painting
depends a great deal upon the willingness of the viewer to
accept its lack of clarity in large areas.
The brush work in the sky does not give the modern eye much
difficulty in accepting the patches as representing clouds
and that could be referred to as relative clarity. The small
houses have the greatest level of clarity.
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