Kara Walker

I like this Kara Walker piece in particular because of its use of light and dark to evoke a sense of terror and danger. In this piece, light is dangerous to the child character, only the cover of darkness will allow her to escape her persecutor. Walker's intricate design immediately gives us a sense of what the piece is about, and the positioning of the male over the female gives a sense of hopelessness. Despite its very basic format, Walker's pieces allow the mind to create a narrative given one simple, yet familiar phenomenon, the shadow.

Kara Walker

A common theme among Kara Walker's pictures is the use of pure shape instead of realistic shaded forms; all people and objects are seen as simply black silhouettes on a white background. This makes the people's shapes need to be more expressive, since you can't see their faces or any values in the body that may make it easier to interpret their movements or emotions. Here, both people are making big motions, and the man's tears are more pronounced than they would be in real life so that the viewer can see the feeling.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster "HE/SHE"

It is very interesting how they are able to take things that look nothing like people and shape then to make very real looking shadows.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster

The work of Noble and Webster show a series of positive and negative spaces. They used recycled materials and light to create shadows of human figures and sky line. The light that shines on the materials passes through the negative space and projects on to the wall on the back. Their work is interesting because it shows the versaltility of recycled materials.

"Dirty White Trash" Tim Noble and Sue Webster

This piece, entitled "Dirty White Trash", takes advantage of the shadow cast by a painstakingly arranged pile of garbage. The light creates the positive space around which the shadow is defined. I enjoy this piece because of the mind blowing craftsmanship, geometry and sheer creativity. The way the material is manipulated to created the desired affect is incredible.

Kara Walker

Tung Nguyen: Positive/Negative Space Artist (Kara Walker)

This is part of the "The Creation of African-America" by The Creation of African-America, a Moving Picture by Kara Walker. It evokes plenty of thoughts from the viewers. Black color depicts the stereotypical view on African American. The whole picture makes me think about African American during the backwards time which slavery was still a norm. Blacks were all blacks - all identical to the slave master. We know African Americans come in all shades of brown, yet, we will not see beyond black if we cannot alter our own perception.

Kara Walker

The quasi identical black silhouettes of this piece are almost as important as the white space in which they find themselves- I find myself focusing as much on the bodies of these women as the white space that is between their backs (which also looks like the shape of a woman's body) and their legs. The contrast in size between the two women and the little tiny guy that is on the left, and in one of the hands, draws particular attention to the shapes of their bodies and how they stand in relation to one another.

Rachel Whiteread - Embankment

Rachel Whiteread successfully uses all aspects of her medium to create an interesting and aesthetically pleasing piece.  The volume of each individual block is not taken for granted, but rather is highlighted and incorporated to showcase its substance.  The texture of the material does a great deal to enhance the uniqueness of the reflected light.  Beyond the reflective nature of the block surfaces, the placement of each block creates shadows that seem to work together to create a sense of vitality.  It seems almost to be an interconnected network of units that together forms an entity with a single goal or purpose.  This use of space, and proximity, define this work.  For this reason, there seems to be a meticulous quality to the arrangements of the parts of the whole.  

Tim Noble and Sue Webster

Shadow plays an essential role in many of  Tim Noble and Sue Webster's pieces.  In "Dark Stuff," for instance, the viewer focuses much less on the work's positive shapes (scraps bundled together and wrapped around sticks) and more on the materials' shadows (two heads impaled on poles).  The result is surprising and extremely powerful; the viewer expects to see "art" in the positive shapes, but instead, finds a much more compelling work in the negative spaces (the shadows) that ordinarily take second stage to the objects themselves.  I thought this piece was clever and well-crafted and I was highly impressed by the artists' original use of shadow/ability to create such a captivating, gruesome piece.

Time Noble and Sue Webster- Dirty White Trash

This piece by Tim Noble and Sue Webster is titled Dirty White Trash. I think that the contrasts that are created in this piece are what make it most interesting. First, there is the contrast between the pile of trash and the image of sophistication that is created by the shadow of the trash. This contrast almost seems to be saying to the audience that sophistication can be created and built from trash, that sophistication can simply be an image. Secondly, there is the contrast between the texture of the trash and the smoothness of the projected image. Even though the trash has many layers and bumps and crevices, the images created by the shadow of this trash is very smooth and flawless.

This work by Tim Noble and Sue Webster shows how the negative space of objects can create new shapes themselves, shown here by shining light at a certain angle at compiled materials to create the shape of human faces or heads within the negative space the light produces.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster

"Falling Apart"

Here, artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster create a silhouette of what appear to be two heads by using a light source and a carefully assembled pile of found objects. The title suggests that the two heads are splitting apart; this is visible in the crack on the back of the left head. By projecting light only through the assemblage's negative space, a new image is created on the wall: the light (white) that is projected on the (black) ground creates a shape, and the negative space from that makes a recognizable silhouette.

Dirty White Trash

This piece by Tim Noble and Sue Webster is called Dirty White Trash. The sculpture takes into account not only the space used to create the figure, but also the negative space that is left behind. Both the sculpture itself and the image left on the wall by the shadow that is cast is significant and meaningful in the piece.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster

This is work from Tim Noble and Sue Webster titled "Dirty White Trash." I saw this and began to chuckle to myself because I find it clever. They effectively utilize postive and negative space in this photo to emphasize the focal point of the image. The reason why I chuckled is because I noticed that the shadows of the two people seem to resemble high class people with the way they're posed and what they're doing (smoking a cigarette elegantly and drinking a glass of wine); hardly looking like white trash.

Kara Walker

This piece by Kara Walker contrasts negative and positive space with a black and white, almost symmetrical image. The image conveys a sense of balance between not only the negative and positive space, but also with the placement of the images themselves. The figure in the bottom-left seems to counter the figure in the upper-right and the connected bodies are almost mirror-like reflections of each other. I like that the image appears to be a shadow of the figures represented.

Dirty White Trash

This installation, titled Dirty White Trash, was created by Tim Noble and Sue Webster in 1998. The sculpture is made of six months’ worth of the artists discarded trash, and a slide projector is angled to cast a perfect shadow of the two artists enjoying a glass of wine and a cigarette. It took the artist 6 months to create the piece. I love the thought that went into this creation, the use of objects that would have otherwise been discarded to create art, and the notion that this garbage reflects the time in which they created the piece and serves as a reflection on their lives. The trash literally becomes a reflection, allowing for the shadow depicting the artists enjoying their time together. The use of the shadow and the negative space created from the light blocked from the sculpture is crucial to the effectiveness of the piece, and relates this week’s drawings.

Positive/Negative Space Artist

Kara Walker - Untitled (Hunting Scenes)

This piece is one that shows the dichotomy of Positive and Negative space very well, as it is a sharply contrasted, two-toned piece. There is an almost equal balance between the positive and negative areas. The negative areas show that careful planning went into determining the form of the negative areas. In fact, it would be feasible to have designed this by drawing the negative areas, as we had done in class. The fact that this was created by cutting pieces of paper emphasizes the importance of the negative space.

Kara Walker: You Do

Kara Walker exemplifies a Positive/Negative Space Artist, as can be clearly seen in this work titled “You Do.” Through the use of sharp, distinct lines and the contrasting black and white colors the artist creates a clear definition between the positive and negative space. While these figures are simple silhouettes without any details or facial expression, they still seem to evoke emotion in the viewer. The artist also uses a very interesting and contrasting combination of lines (gentle curves and sharp edges). I find this work fascinating to look at because of the whimsical quality these figures and clarity of the image.

Kara Walker

Curved lines and sharp fringes are beautifully highlighted in this piece by Kara Walker, strengthening the relationship between the men and girls with flashy and exotic showmanship. The posture of the two women make them seem younger, and yet they dwarf the two masters of ceremonies, making it clear that although they are directing the girls' movements, the power and beauty in the two girls resides in something separate from the men. The negative space between the girls resembles the hourglass shape of a woman's torso, forming a strong sense of femininity at the core of the piece.