Architecture 11A

Part 1

Visual Representation

"The Musician" by Georges Braque consists of dominant vertical contour lines that subdivides the painting into 3 main vertical divisions. It presents plenty of ambiguous spacial readings through the many elements that seemingly stack on top of each other in a chaotic manner.

Through some re-alignment of several contours, I was able to reinterpret the painting such that fragmented figures could perhaps show continuity across the painting as it appears and disappears through different supposed planes. This interpretation surfaces a reversing and ambiguous figure/ground relationship that interchanges between the three columns.

In order to explore more spacial readings, the reconstruction of this into a new subdivide of three horizontal compartments was able to break down main figures and spaces of the previous interpretation to produce new spatial conditions.

By incorporating balance, the new composition is able to test new figure/ground relationships, questioning the ability to read foreground, mid ground and background if there is one at all, through the introduction of dominant horizontal contours as well as the occurrence of transparency and opacity that bounces on and off between the previous interpretation and the latter.

Demonstrated by the extrusion model, this is governed by the instances of figures crossing one another at a different altitude, at the same altitude, or even floating. Consequently, the alignment and adjacency of figures are able to create boundaries of spacial containment and/or void through hierarchy of figures and spaces, one of which is height as a tool.