Proximity and Juxtaposition :: Essays Papers

Proximity and juxtapositionIn order to properly compare and contrast the similarities between juxtaposition and proximity a definition is surely needed of the cardinal. Proximity for instance, refers to the relative tightness of forms, and how that effects the relationship between them. Juxtaposition on the other hand, refers to the track in which elements or forms are placed next to each other. Juxtaposition and proximity are 2 important aspects of design that are often used in concert and must be taken into account when creating a work of device. One similarity between juxtaposition and proximity is that they twain have the ability to communicate what type of connection should be make between a grouping of elements or forms. For example, when referring to proximity, if the elements are placed virtually together in a design, they relay to the witness that they are a group, and they should be translated as one. The carriage 2 elements are placed together (juxtap osition) conveys a relationship as well. An example of this is in Gustav Klimts art work (see last 2 pages) titled, The Kiss (Gombridge 65). In Klimts house painting a man and a woman are placed next to each other in an interesting way. The forms of their bodies are distorted and correspond the abstraction of melting and movement. There is an obvious relationship between the two forms which would not be as apparent if the forms were not juxtaposed the way that Klimt chose to. The bodies are vertically aligned, so that a oneness can be achieved. Had the man been upright and the woman horizontally placed across the ground, the two forms would communicate differently. The feeling of movement, melting, and oneness, would surely lose its intensity. Taking an even close look at Gustav Klimts art work, the viewer may centering on the geometric shapes within the 2 forms. At first the viewer notices that rectangular shapes are juxtaposed within the male form, and a volume of th e womans form is filled with circular shapes. However, towards the lower and speeding parts of their bodies, juxtaposition and proximity are used to form a relationship between the rectangular and circular shapes. There are a few rectangles and circles placed so close to one another and in such a way that the onlooker can no longer distinguish between the mans and the womans bodies.