ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS

There can be two ways to engage and involve in art and design – to perceive it and to produce it. To perceive art and design, we can go to an art or design gallery, a theatre, a concert hall, an art or design exhibition, etc., or anywhere around us.

Nature is a great artist itself or a partner in art if we pay attention to it and connect with it, and feel and appreciate it through our senses. For instance, for the early morning sun shines through a window onto a potted plant in a room and produces a figure-and-ground image on the wall (Figure 1), we can choose to just perceive and appreciate it, interpret and relate it to whatever we may be thinking about, and we can also be inspired by it and produce a piece of art or design by drawing a picture, taking a photo, composing a piece of music, writing a poem, etc., of the figure-and-ground image or of any other triggered idea via our imagination. As the sun rises gradually, the figure-and-ground image on the wall changes gradually in its value (lightness/darkness), chroma (intensity/saturation), and even hue (e.g., from yellow and black to different tints or shakes of grey (Figure 2), and we can again perceive it or produce another piece of art or design from the new inspiration.

How about looking at the sky through the branches and leaves of a tree in the morning (Figure 3), in the evening with the moon in the blue sky (Figure 4)? Can we see art in terms of Rhythm and Pattern, Balance though asymmetrical, Contrast but Harmony, Emphasis yet in Unity? Will these inspire us to create art and design by adapting the beauty of nature into our works?

What about imagining a swan talking to its reflection in the lake (Figure 5), caterpillars on the leaves two weeks ago (Figure 6)? What principles of art and design can we relate to, and how can we be inspired to produce new ideas for art and design?

Also, how about with humans, nature and man-made things (Figure 7 and Figure 8)?

Nature is an artist and designer, and so are humans.