FIGURE/ GROUND RELATIONSHIPS

What is the definition of figure and ground, positive and negative shapes? It could be said that the focus of the whole work, where people’s attention first drawn to is the figure, or the positive shape, the left is the ground, the negative shapes. But soon we found out that the relationship between figure and ground, positive and negative shapes exist relatively, which means there could be positive shapes in negative shapes or the opposite, just according to the shift of focus point. This gives a diversity of which part is the positive shapes and which part is the negative shape, because viewers’ focus are not always the same, especially to some ambiguous images.

In the project, we used newspaper to do collage. My first attempt was to show a nest with eggs and birds in it.

But it was so hard to distinguish them from the background that I tried to do another piece. The second attempt was to make a human figure, about a smoking lady.

I had no idea about the collage was about the relationship of the positive and negative shapes at the time that I simply tried to make the figure on the plain background, using different sizes of word to add shadow. I was pretty happy when I finally finished the piece and thought it was much more clear to tell. It was not until the critique that I understand the purpose is to distinguish the figure from the ground but I have already got a low grade which I regret so much now; I should be clear about the purpose of the assignment before I start to do it or fix it. 

Anyway, after finishing the newspaper collage, we started to research and learn about metaphor and symbol and found signs and symbols from social, political and philosophical topics. The ten topics and symbols that I chose are all very interesting. 

The first one is using unbalanced scales to represent the Majority Rule. While the heavy side of the scales is the standing majority, the light side of the scales is the hanging minority. I chose to present the minority hanging because minority is likely to b mistreated and their rights are likely to be threatened. In that case, some minority people turn into majority and bully their former companion just for their own benefits. This cause less and less people in the minority side and  the heavy pressure from the majority will finally lead to an dead end to the left minorities. There by, I think scales that tilt more and more is a perfect symbol for the Majority Rule. 

The second one is using thorns to represent negative feelings like jealousy. The darkness and the living features of negative feelings and thorns are so alike. The negative feelings grow in the mind just like thorns grow on the ground. It is hard to get rid of them and they steal the nutrition of other positive feelings. They expand until occupy the whole space. 

The third one is using trees grow on the ground to represent my relationship to the world. Like trees need nutritions from the soy ground to grow, I need love and support form people. The tree get nutritions through roots, and I get nutritions through relationships with people. So the roots represent relationships and supports that help me to grow and live in the world.

The fourth one is using masks to represent false and camouflage. I love the drawing I made according to this symbol. The masked, blank faces have a strong expression of the feeling that I want to show. 

The fifth one is using relationship chart to represent Six Degree of Separation, a very interesting theory that I believe.

The sixth one is simply using black swan to represent the famous Black Swan Theory. I also tried to transform the shape of the black swan into a question mark, showing an unity in meaning to the Black Swan Theory.

The seventh one is about addiction. I use chains to represent how addiction will limit people’s freedom and right to have a normal life. In the image, I love the metaphor that the beer bottles are bombs. 

The eighth is that night lights are shelters.

The ninth is that shadow combined with mist is loneliness.

The tenth is the symbolic object from different life period represent aging and time. 

The next step was we traced the newspaper collage to get shapes, filled them black and the used these shapes to reshape the symbols we chose. We use three types of relationships between positive and negative shapes to make three symbols from the ten above, and my choices are using black on white to shape thorn, using white on black to shape human tree, and using ambiguous to shape addiction.