Seeing Balance in Gestures

A question is often asked when I describe that my approach is totally automatic, how do I know it when the work is finished? This is of course a consideration for all who are involved in an art making process. But the question is still a good one when it is observed that through the automatic approach my work is devoid of intention.

I see my work as being generated, not so much composed. The composition choices I make are the choice of surface, what media to use with what marking tool, and when to stop. Otherwise I just follow the spontaneous movement that arises inside me.

Because I have done this for a while I can somewhat predict how the various gestures will build up. The image has it’s own intrinsic form. It is like the formation of crystals which I observe as they are growing. What I have learned is that over the process that there are moments when the image will coalesce or constellate, showing a balance in its marking. Then the image may show more movement or depth.

There are several times an image will gain this balance, usually about five or six points like this in the process. These moments come more often in the beginning and then diminish over time. So if I pass one point of balance I know another will come. However when the the work is already rather dense the next point of balance requires a lot more marking. When the work is already dense I have to consider if I really want to continue on to eventually find the next point.

When choosing a single marking tool and medium, stopping is the only other compositional choice I make. Here are some examples of balance points in a drawing.

So why do I see these as balanced points? I am not really sure, but certainly has to do with how the mind organizes what is seen. It may be a pleasing ratio between the white and black. It may be various areas being more obviously indicated or delineated. It may be both. It may just naturally pass through traditionally discovered points of good compositional arrangement. But it all has to do with how we interpret what we see.

I also have another indication of a stopping point though. This is the point when the on viewing the image it will easily elicit an ecstatic response. This sometimes is when there is a more obvious compositional balance, but sometimes not, but usually they are very close. I then have to make a choice of which I want to be more pronounced. However I usually stay with the point that elicits a greater ecstatic response, because of the question of whether I may be capturing something very subtle, even though most may never see it as such.

Then it can be asked again, why do I see these ecstatic eliciting points? This is even a more challenging question. It may be related to those more traditionally viewed composition balance points. Or maybe it depicts a more subtle organization reflected back to the mind and nervous system. This I cannot know. But I still want to ensure it is in the work in hopes that this intrinsic quality can be communicated to other viewers.