have a seat

Took this picture on Sunset Rock in Highlands, NC in September, 2005. Former facebook pic and current myspace pic. Liked it for those forums primarily b/c many folks have large pics of their faces. But like the pic for other reasons as well.

According to Paul M. Lester in his recently published (2006) textbook Visual Communication: Images with Messages, the brain reacts more quickly and readily to 4 visual attributes: color, form, depth and movement. He says, "these four visual cues are the major concerns of any visual communicator when designing a picture to be remembered by a viewer."

I believe Lester is correct to the extent that these four characteristics can most strongly influence an audience's reaction to a visual work. For example, the eye can begin with the closest object in the picture, the left knee in the left corner and follow the line made by the right foot to the two sandals or to the small bush at the edge of the rock which leads to the edge of the rock and the trees. The tan bush at the rock's edge light color pulls the eye.

I also like the balance between the blue on the pants in the foreground and the blue in the sky in the background.

The picture could be much better, of course. It could be more balanced between the sky and the rock. Currently the shot is split into rough thirds. The knee begins at one third and the rock ends at the second third. It would be nice to have tried this shot in fourths.

Pretty pleased with the colors, but can't take any credit for them. Didn't plan to wear neutral shoes and jeans simply to make a nice shot.

And, being more honest, didn't think about much except that I liked what I saw through the lens.

A bit more honesty--(vous ne voyez pas mes amis et notre vin rouge).

I'm not buddying up with Hunter S. here, just saying that Lester (and certainly many others before him including Hubel and wiesel with the cat experiments :O!) is correct. My audience, in this case, was only me. I naturally preferred a shot that included movement, depth, and some balance of form and color.

What Lester does not describe in his work, that I am not left wondering, is why we naturally have these preferences. How do they work with (or against) post-modern design? Is art anything more than techne? Is there a remainder? Why do natural landscapes evoke emotion?

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