9.0 Asymmetrical, altered sequence: 2 elements (advanced)
Asymmetry is all about achieving a felt sense of balance. Asymmetric arrangements are chaotic, random and rhythmical. The goal is to create a felt state of balance where mismatching elements in a composition feel equal in weight towards each other. Asymmetrical balance becomes very reliant on a creative’s awareness and sensitivity to the role played by size, value (or color), and location.
It’s your turn! Create your own version of an asymmetrical altered sequence of 2 elements. Find 12 toothpicks or matchsticks. Drop them randomly onto a sheet of paper placed on the ground. Take a photo or your arrangement and make a print. View the print and make a mental selection of an area on the print that has an interesting cluster of sticks.
Spontaneously recreate your preferred cluster of sticks directly onto your print by using the thick drawing stick such as a charcoal or pastel. Make your drawn clusters large. Repeat them if you’d like in another area. Bleed them off the edge. Be bold. This is repetition and variation at a very raw and exciting state!
Optional: cut a thin line about the size of one stick, out of another sheet of paper in order to give you an erasing shield. Erase those areas through which you feel the stick images should be fully revealed. When you’re done, take photos and post your exercise to Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.
Walker Evans. The Church of the Nazarene. Tennessee, 1936. Library of Congress
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