The Idea of Space in Arts

The Idea of Space in Arts - Part 1

   “Space is a difficult concept. It is less mysterious, less mystical, than time, but more intricate, more mathematical. Space, we feel, is the barest possibility of existence, and from this we may argue that it must have the fewest possible properties, and be undifferentiated…But is space anything then?”

                                                                                                              J.R. Lucas (1973:95)

   Some people says space is a byproduct of an art while the others considered as an integral elements of art itself. Regardless of which perspective one takes its undeniably a part and parcel of art-making process. Visual Art is a tangible manifestation of ideas in its concrete form thus its physical existence resides in space.

   When one look at a painting, drawing or a print which is in their traditional form displayed on a flat plain on a piece canvas, paper or printed on wood, metal or the wall itself, one would always wonder about the the significance of a real space yet, they can always the feel the existence of spatial space the moment they observed the the artwork. Some of the work may gave a sensation of deep space while the other may imbued a sense of shallow or even ambiguous space especially in those abstract arts which purposely distorting the sense of order in the visual field to give a sensation restlessness and the likes to lead the mind of the audience to the content/meaning of an inner expression.

    In the art of sculpture, object creation, designs et cetera, the interaction between those concrete forms and the space enveloping them is easier to see because of they are very real in their physical sense. An artistic form created in space. However since the concreteness of the form itself stands dominant, the element of space sometimes is neglected by the viewer; thus considered as a byproduct of the form. An art form created by human whether its function is purely artistic, aesthetic or utilitarian, resides in space thus its inevitable for these two elements will interact with each other intentionally or accidentally.  The best artist is the one who is aware of the phenomenon and acted upon it wisely in his art.

   In this discussion I try explore the relationship between form and space as in the First Dimension (1D), Second Dimension (2D), Third Dimension (3D) and the Fourth Dimension (4D). In 1D, the existence of form and space is in its conceptual dimension. It is an idea that resides in the mind of the artist. This imaginative concept/idea is generated due to the interaction of our five senses (the look, smell, taste, hear, skin sensation) to our surrounding. It maybe physical, sociological, psychological etc or combination of all these factors. It need not be immediately affected after stimulation. It may take years to get the right combination to build certain concept or idea that can be transformed into an idea of art.

   In 1D the idea generated is purely conceptual and naturally the form and space is in its conceptual form too residing in the mind of the artist. For example, the artist has seen the paddy field in his childhood years along time ago and the memory of it lay dormant in his mind until the time he has sufficient artistic skill, then the idea may resurface in his mind recalling the memory of the event in his mind eyes.

In order to capture form and space of the 1D, if one has sufficient artistic skill, he would likely to draw or sketch it on a piece of paper or in his sketch book. Doodling in sketch book certainly helps an artist to recall back those past memories and to freeze them in form of 2D.

       

   A Doodle from a Sketchbook (2018)

   

     Now we are talking about 2D space,which a flat plane on a piece of paper, canvas or wood. So where did the space existed. It is called form and space of illusion. One can see and feel internally of the form and the space that just isn't there physically. Its also called as spatial space. An artist can create such form and space by properly and skillfully manipulating the elements and principles of design in their artistic composition. For example, some simple straight lines arrange in certain ways or difference in thickness may
gives a sense of space in between them. 

                                  Lumut Fishing Village (2005)

The varying thickness of the stilts combined with other factors like varying sizes of the boats, huts and trees help to give a sense of space. 

Basically in 2D arts, there are 3 types of space which forms are arranged by the artist. A sense of deep space can be felt on a flat plane of paper when the arrangement of objects/form diagonally tapering to the horizon. Sizes of identical form such as houses diminishing in accordance to this diagonal line to create a feeling of deep and vast space that one can see the horizon on the edge of the paper/canvas. The clarity/details on forms too, changes as the they get further along the plane. 

Gertak Sanggul, Penang (2005)

   There are three planes in most deep space composition i.e. the foreground which is the front of the composition. On this plane everything is clearly detailed and the size of the forms are at their biggest. As we move further along the imaginary diagonal line to the horizon, the sizes of identical objects get smaller and less clear than at the foreground. Here is the middle-ground. Further on as the eyes of the viewer moves to the horizon, forms get even smaller to the point of indiscernible or just a mere gestures at the background. 

   The field of view in 2D arts are sometimes been blocked by objects, wall, fence or the view of an interior space. Even if the process of its composition is the same as in deep space but the range of spatial view is rather short or devoid the sense of diminishing horizon, the art is said as to have a shallow space. 

     While some artist incorporates the idea of shallow space unintentionally others purposely use shallow space to convey certain meaning in their art. In a shallow space composition, the subject-matter usually can be given a greater emphasis by removing clutters of objects or elements which are unimportant to the composition. Composition of portraits or still-life usually used shallow space format in order to give more focus of the subject with blurred or blocked background.

Figure 201 by Mehmet Q Sauda' (2000) 

   The background is blurred to give emphasis to the portrait. The focus on the face is given a further treatment by simplifying the attire by leaving a big area of white with smattering touches of grey.

Painting 10 (2000)

Painting 10 by Mehmet Q Sauda' (2000) employed a blocking wall to create a shallow spatial space in order to give more focus to the sofa at the center of the composition.

   Artist like Henri Matisse (1869-1954) produced a considerable number of art works in a shallow space composition. 

                               Artist: Henri Matisse

                               Title: Still Life with Apples on a Pink Tablecloth

                               Media: Oil on Canvas

                               Year: 1924

Still Life with Apples on a Pink Tablecloth (1924) is one of many examples of Henri Matisse's shallow space composition.

   Ambiguous Space is when the spatial space in a composition cannot be identified in orderly manner of the two types of space mentioned before. The front, middle and background are blurred together to give a sense of no clarity which is the front or the back of the composition. This style is abundant in the art of expressionism or abstract expressionism. This idea of blurring the spatial space is especially effective in order to convey the inner feeling of the artist which was more on the psychological aspect of his perception rather than of the physical aspect of it. Thus the physical time line is deemed unnecessary. 

Sketches 111

Mehmet Q Sauda' (2006)

Pen on Paper

 

Lanskap Kacau Bilau (2008)

Mehmet Q Sauda'

Computer Drawing

   Artist like Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) produced quite a number of works with ambiguous space in his Cubist stage. 

Defining Space - In Sculpture

DEFINING SPACE IN SCULPTURE

Defining Space

   

“Space is a difficult concept. It is less mysterious, less mystical, than time, but more          intricate, more mathematical. Space, we feel, is the barest possibility of existence, and from this we may argue that it must have the fewest possible properties, and be undifferentiated…But is space anything then?”

                                                                                                              J.R. Lucas (1973:95)

Defining space is never an easy task. All by itself, it is intangible, limitless and ever presence. Yet it gives very little clue on how human should interact with it. Generally speaking, the only way that man is able to identify and define space is by creating meaningful forms to mark the certain specific point in space and as the result; this specific point can be differentiated from the rest of the undefined space. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (1974), space carries several meanings of which one of them reads;

Space: that in all objects exists and moves: the universe exists in space: interval or distance between two or more objects. (p.917)

or;

Space-time: (also known as ‘the fourth dimension’) fusion of time and the three dimensions of space, as a concept much used modern physics and philosophy. (ibid). 

do not really describe the characteristic of space per se but merely representing it by adding other elements such as objects with mass, density, time or even measurement of the interval between these objects situated in space. The question of what is the reality of space is still left unanswered.

For example the spherical mass of planet earth marks a point in the vast limitless space of the universe. This specific space which is displaced by the mass then be identified as Earth. On a smaller scale, a pebble on a deserted beach too marks a specific area of space and the list may go exhaustively long but man can never fully explain space without ever adding external elements such as mass, distance or time in order to understand it.

In the world of philosophy and science, various theories have surfaced to explain and rationalized the space; the earliest being the Euclidean Space (circa 300 B.C) which postulated that space can be understood through mathematical equations and based on theorems of geometry.

 Euclidean (or Cartesian) space is the mathematical abstraction and extension of the 'ordinary' three dimensional space of everyday life. The first mathematical treatment of this space is Euclid's Elements, composed about 300 bce. The Elements begins with a set of definitions and postulates from which it derives the theorems of geometry… (Heath, T. L, 1956)

Cartesian Space (1596-1650), Lobachevsky (1793-1856), Riemannian Space (1826-1866), Newtonian Space to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity came out with their techniques of measuring space.  All these theories required mathematical formulation in

their quest of quantifying the space; looks impressive and complex on paper but when it comes to their application in the real temporal space, still needs form to differentiate any two entities of space.¹

 The premise of space which is going to be examined here is of different dimension from a physical one (physical in a sense of its temporality) but it is also pertinent to discuss space as an overview and eventually forming a departure point of the study.   Basically a sculptural exercise follows and extends this rule into the realm of aesthetics. 
Traditionally the exercise is a process of aesthetically defining any given space. In other word, the form which carries certain meaning understood by certain set of people/culture over certain area of space. Therefore a sculptural exercise is dealing with an issue of defining the space aesthetically, first and foremost. Yet this essential element is most of the time been overlooked by Western aesthetics to the point of relegating space as the by product of form.²

Tradition which has been mentioned here refers to the evolution of sculptural exercise in the Western culture- From Classical Greek to the present styles. This meaning of ‘tradition’ is used exclusively to illustrate the evolution of the Western sculptural art. It is significantly different from the meaning of tradition which is going to be explicated in the latter chapter and will be used in the following chapters to come.

Space can only be defined through symbolism by adding forms to it. It is simply because form can be easily perceived by human’s perceptive faculties; it is given the pivotal role of defining space – socially, culturally, scientifically or aesthetically. As the result, most of the sculptural exercise revolves around forms, to the point of relegating space as a mere by product of form which occupies it, thus forgetting the real issue of defining the space.

This is quite true in term of the Classical Greek³ sculptures such as Kroisos (c. 525 B.C.) to Neo-Classicism⁴ styles of Antonio Canova exemplified in Perseus with the Head of Medusa, (1808c. 86⁵/₈ in.) which the concern was primarily on form and relegating space to the secondary status.

In the wake of the Modern Art⁵, specifically in the era of Constructivism⁶ sculptors have  turned their attention from solely in creating form to manipulation of space within their sculptures. The pioneer of this transformation was Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964) in his revolutionized work, Woman Combing Her Hair, (1915). This transformation was finely articulated by another constructivist, Naum Gabo in his “Realist Manifesto” (1920);

 Up to now, the sculptors have preferred the mass and neglected or paid very little attention to such important component of mass as space. Space interested them only insofar as it was a spot in which volumes could be placed or projected. It had to surround masses. We consider space from entirely different point of view. We consider it as an absolute sculptural element, released from any closed volume, and we represent it from inside with its own specific properties. (Gabo, N. qtd. in Burnham, J. 1968:150)  

It is also noted that the emergence of constructivism in the earlier part of twentieth century was greatly influenced by the momentous scientific finding of the molecular physicists which formed the underlying structure of the movement. Cubism, too has contributed to the emergence of this movement; since constructivist space was an extension of the Cubist ambiguous space and both were searching for the solution to express the “fourth dimension.” Consequently this tendency led to the inclusion of the element of time and motion which became a major concern of the futurist⁷ and the kineticist to the three dimensional space.

Scientific attempt to define space has reached its end with the emergence of Quantum Theory and the General Theory of Relativity where space and matter (form) arrived at the point of interchangeability. In the word of Michael Talbot;

“In the new physics, matter and empty space thus become one and the same.” (Talbot, M, …qtd. in Wahid Bakhsh Rabbani, 1992:55) 

Or in the word of George Leonard (1978);

 As we move closer to the nucleus, it too begins to dissolve. It too is nothing more than an oscillating field, waves of rhythm.   Inside the nucleus are other organized fields: protons, neutrons, even smaller "particles."  Each of these, upon our approach, also dissolves into pure rhythm. (p.32)

Any further extension of these theories is a merely conceptions, notions and postulates which cannot be realized in the real world space other than creation of another more complex mathematical equations. Einstein, even after completion of his Relativity Theory would hope that it flawed, that some other hidden variables would surfaced to denounce the interchangeable entity of matter and space in atoms;

Einstein had even hoped that the quantum theory he helped create was somehow flawed, hoping desperately, even in the face of the evidence of his own experiments, that there would be a hidden variable that would establish order in the quantum world. Later experiments, conducted at the University of California in Berkeley on Bell's theorem, confirmed the absence of any hidden variable,

(Mu Soeng Sunim, 1991)

When science, specifically in the field molecular physics seemed to have exhausted its logical explanation of this phenomenon, the solution came in the writing of Frithjof Capra (1976 ) which clarified the relationship between the realm physics to the sphere of Buddhist metaphysics through the concept of Sunyata;

the physicist's interpretation of the subatomic world, in terms of the quantum field, is closely paralleled by that of the Eastern mystic who interprets his or her experience of the world in terms of an ultimate underlying reality. Buddhists express the same idea when they call the ultimate reality Sunyata. "Emptiness" or "the void"-and affirm that it is a living Void which gives birth to all forms in the phenomenal world. (Pp.197-198)

In Islamic worldview, this relationship can be related to the aspect of Sufism where the science of traditional Islamic metaphysics, cosmology and their ontological connection were originated and expounded. Of this relationship (molecular physics and the Sufism) is clearly illuminated by Wahid Bakhsh Rabbani (1992) which mentioned;

…according to the cult of Wahdat-ul-Wujud (oneness of being), God’s Being penetrates everything in the universe including space, the building blocks of the universe, which are nothing but God’s light which on devolution, appeared in the form of wave-like particles or particle –like waves (as observed by recent tests) penetrating the entire field of matter and space whose oneness already been established by both scientists and the Sufis. (p.57)

In sculpture, it can be understood that sculptures that showed the dominance of space with minimal usage of form has exhausted itself by the end of 1930’s; what have continued for the most part are improvisations on ideas generated by Archipencko, Picasso, and the Constructivists.  In the word of Jack Burnham (1968),

“Space, as a source of expression, has become a dead issue for the present generation.” (p.152) 

The failure of the majority of the Western modern sculpture to induce space into the sense of importance as had been achieved by form after Constructivism; perhaps due to its inability to see space beyond the realm of temporality and because Western art basically cannot see beyond the achievements of the modern science.

The futurist sculptors fascination with the element of time were manifested in form of ‘dynamism,’ in which they tried to arrest a sense of time through motions; like photography or film in the static forms of their sculpture. Even though time and motion denoted space; it is a space of temporality and the sense of “presence” can only be felt fleetingly. Kineticism, on the other hand ventured further to introduce the real physical motion in the sculpture. Besides incorporating the ‘machine value’ into aesthetics, it tried to emulate this sense of spiritual presence (anima) through physical motion. It is also noted that in kinetic sculpture, the forces which generated the motion, either from mechanical devices or from natural forces; such in the case of Jean Tinguely’s self-destructive sculpture or Alexander Calder’s mobile were always hidden from the spectators’ view. The reason for this is that it gives certain impact to the viewer; a sense of “presence”. The Kineticist probably tried to evoke spirituality⁸ in their sculptures but relying solely on the scientific perspective, still embedded their sculptures in the temporal space.

On contrary, the sacred architectures of the various religions of the East such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam are imbued with the sense of space dominating the physical manifestation of their arts. In other word forms are created in such a way; with their signs and symbols that they evoked more compelling sense of “spiritual presence” to the space. This special portion of space is certainly not of the temporal entity but is more related to the metaphysical reality or in the term of quality (sapientia) rather than quantity (scientia).

Specifically in Islamic art even the simplest form of a prayer mat; when properly designed and decorated, will function as one of the most powerful tool to convert the mundane temporal space into centered sacred space. It is simply due to the reason that traditional Islamic perspective understands that space by itself is not from the realm of the temporality nor can it be defined through quantitative scientific method; but entirely of the qualitative, spiritual-metaphysical entity. In other word, space is the only element that retains its ‘primordial state’ at this level of temporal existence, in the sense that man can never fully comprehend its components nor manipulate it; in order to form a link between the temporality to the Divinity. Schuon (1965) has explicitly stated;

Space symbolizes origin and immutability; time is the decadence which carries us away from the origin while at the same time leading us towards the Messiah, the great Liberator, and towards the meeting with God. (p.32)

The only difference between the traditional and modern perspective of space is that in the former, the qualitative element (sapientia) is combined with its quantative element (scientia) of space to form one cohesive form of understanding while the latter, following the tenet of Cartesian Duality⁹ only regarded the scientia element as the only valid explanation of space. Here space can be defined from two different angles; on one hand is the perspective of modern science which put the space entirely within the locale of temporality. Space is defined using quantitative scientific methods which require complex mathematical formulae to rationalize it theoretically. Yet space per se is still unfathomable, inexplicable without ever adding forms or objects to define it.

On the other hand is the traditional perspective of space; in which the convergence of the sapiential and the sciential elements are manifested. Yet understanding the limitation of the scientia; in this case the natural science, space is more prominence in its the sapiential aspect in order to form a connection between the realm of mundane to the realm of the spirituality through the science of metaphysics.

Thus, the other logical extension of understanding space-form relationship in sculptural exercise is by going beyond the rules of physical science and its quantifying position  which rely on objectivity.¹⁰ It is not a rejection of the validity of physical science but rather to draw an extension from it to the realm of quality. This relationship has its logical sequence as clearly posited by Frithjof Schuon;

…there are no ground for finding fault with the modern science in so far as it studies within the limit of its competence – the precision and effectiveness of its results leave no room for doubt on this point – one must add this important reservation, namely, that the principle, the range and the development of a science or an art is never independent of Revelation nor of the demands of spiritual life. (p.35)

And as for “the demand of spiritual life” requires the ontological connection between the form which is basically of objective manifestation and their origin which is the subjectivity in space;

The hiatus between nothingness and the least of objects is absolute, and the fast analysis this absoluteness is that of God. (Schuon 1965:39)

The proposed study is to understand the metaphysical aspect of space through the parameter of Tradition which will be explicated in the next chapter and hopefully is able to connect ontologically the physical space to the Truth as the point of departure.

Mehmet Q Sauda'

4 Oct 2019