Designing a Landscape

In a recent debate with an artist on the professional’s network online, a conflict in defining the word "design" arose. The word design has become somewhat overused by the fashion industry and the mindset has colored thinking in the arts.

He defined "Design" as: "What design means is human intent. Without deliberate intent there is no design. While nature may be arranged in a manner that is attractive, that is not design. Design is an action taken by a human. If the artist manipulates the appearance of the scene, the artist is designing, if not, it is transcribing. From our perspective as artists, nature is random, and we cannot observe design into a painting, but must install it ourselves."
In nature there is something called the Fibonacci Curve and the Golden Mean, described by the Italian mathematician about 1175 AD in which he "proves relationships" in the sequences found all throughout nature. The design is apparent in a Nautilus shell, sea urchins or the center of a sunflower. Flowers are the epitome of design. The artist discovers it or not but it is there whether we do or not. There are golden ratios within rectangles, pyramids all used by artists in "formulating design" all evolved out of relationships within nature. The Greek sculptor Polykleitos discovered the geometric relationships within the human form in the 4th century B.C. and used it to create incredibly beautiful sculpture of the human figure. Everyone knows the drawing of the human form and its mathematical relationships therein by Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" drawing. He understood the relationship between mathematics and art upon which principles of design are founded.

The human psyche is inextricably connected to nature, a horizontal line suggests peace because of its relationship to level ground and a diagonal line suggests movement, instability and energy because of its relationship to the slopes, cliffs or surging of waves in our experience. Beauty is based on positive things like perfect form, health, well being and growth.

The truth of the matter is that there are a great many design principles within nature, which can be used by the artist or photographer to great advantage in creating images and that by moving the artist around instead of expecting the mountain to move one can see it. What is lacking in the arbitrary movement of objects around to "create design" is that it overrides the mathematical relationships and principles found within the landscape. Realistic painting doesn’t mean slavishly copying a subject, no human could "hand transcribe" every iota of detail, so we are all changing the scene somewhat as we paint. Academic methods of comprehending design like the golden ratio or the rule of threes, are mathematical rules of nature used in art, to help the viewer see good composition and design within the subject. These devices of understanding have been a part of the human knowledge base since 4th century B.C. Relationships, harmony and fabulous design are based upon things which are already present in nature and all an artist is doing is discovering something which is very old and has been proven in many other endeavors to exist within Nature.

I think it is curious how in so many other areas of human endeavor words like "discovered" the cure, "found" the answer, "understood the relationship" are used and yet the artist thinks he "invents design". It must be that biologist, mathematicians, doctors, explorers, and even lowly writers are aware of the fact that they are just tumbling to the explanations.

This is an article written for my new book Dust On My Shoes ~ Sun At My Back 15 Professional Artists tell the role of plein air painting in their career. See the online preview of the book. You can purchase through the studio or through Amazon, Alibris, Borders etc… ISBN - 10: 0982535406 ISBN - 13: 9780982535400