
Vsual symmetry makes things appear comfortable; repetition, echoed variations and symmetry are basic pattern techniques for visual design. Symmetry creates a visual balance by definition—one side is the reverse of the other. Faces are not symmetrical, we all know it, but it's something that rarely occupies our thoughts or conversation or observation.
(To see the exhibit click on the above image, to see the thumbnails click on the top left image.)
An image of a symmetrical face does not feel visually right—sometimes like the face of a pop star, artificial and too perfect—other times there is a visual balance but something like the nose is not anatomically correct and then we see it. Too simple can feel like a cartoon, too much can feel nonhuman.
One thing interesting is that these all of t hese images might reflect different people that I am, have been, want to be, or the main category, the persons others wanted me to be that I never could be.
Symmetery as a technique to create visual tension when there is nothing to say is generally thought of as a “cheap shot;” a superficial visual attraction that is unrelated to content and at best associated with decoration by design. Perhaps that best describes these images, something that occupies my time until I die and keeps me out of trouble.
With the popularity of small digital cameras, it has become common to see people taking arms length photographs of their own face often with a mood-creating background such as the Golden Gate Bridge or druken friends at a club. This exhibit is all images using photographs I took of myself with a small hand held camera.
Our lives are not symmetrical, I guess if they were we would be born and live our life to death and then unlive our life from death to birth. Would that have a beginning and an end?, Wouldn’t it be over now? Would it feel symmetrical? In these images how many different feelings come out of the same one half face?
Symmetry is not just unreal or another illussion in life, but a dream which gives us goals to work for as well as a raison d'être.
Click here to see the exhibit.
You can visit the other EmptyPage gallaries by clicking on the appropriate image.
Throughout 2012 in this exhibition I will be including and uncluding images regularly. You can visit my blog where I make regular posts with new images and comments which are later posted here.
I will be putting a comments function on some of these pages this year, but if you have comments you can put them on EmptyPage blog or email them to me.
Some of the images, plain or designed into posters are avaiable to purchase at the EmptyPage Store at Zazzle.com. Their prices are reasonable, you can purchase at different sizes and prices and the quality is very good for the price. At this point I don’t make much money from the sales, about 10%, however I like to make these unusual images available for unusual people.
Thank you for visiting EmptyPage.
Steve Naegele