During my school days , I remember that I was attracted towards pen and ink drawing particularly those depicting rocky landscape, gnarled trees and ancient ships being tossed on stormy sea. To make my drawings I would use just a dip pen , brush & Indian ink . I would love the striking contrasts that I could create using just black ink on white paper. I would drop blobs of ink and fold the paper to get symmetrical abstract design , or blow on the ink blobs using a drinking straw to get a feathery look.
At that time I didn't realise that I was playing with the concept ...
" Dark and Light principle of Design" . This concept is termed
Nōtan (濃淡) in Japanese parlance , and plays a very important role in Japanese art, culture & design.... which signifies the constant interaction / dance between the "positive ( White) " and "negative ( Dark)" energy / space.
Artists who have based their art-work on Nōtan design concepts claim that the following poetry by Lao-Tsu's , poem ( written more that 2000 years ago ) describes the essence of Nōtan very clearly:
Thirty spokes meet in the hub,
but the empty space between them is the essence of the wheel.
Pots are formed from clay,
but the empty space within it is the essence of the pot.
Walls with windows and doors form the house,
but the empty space within it is the essences of the house.
The Principle:
Matter represents the usefulness
Non-matter the essence of things.
Nōtan is most often demonstrated through pen and ink and cut paper drawings, however examples can be found in a variety of mediums including printmaking, ceramic tile design, architecture and very often in quilts
This interaction is confirmed by the ancient
Chinese symbol of Yin and Yang, which is represented by mirror images of one black and one white shape , with each containing a trace amount of the other to demonstrate their inter dependence and revolves around a center point. The positive and negative areas make a whole through a unity of opposites that are equal and inseparable. In
Nōtan, opposites complement and do not conflict.
This is considered a
"Two value Nōtan " since only two colours ....black and white are used in the design.
Here is an example of a
" Three value Nōtan"where a third colour ... Gray is used
Here is a compilation of some gorgeous Chinese / Japanese / Indian(Sanjhi paper-cuts)
So using Adobe Illustrator, I to created two simple designs ( see below) based on
Nōtan concepts of design. I hope I have succeeded
Here is a link to an YouTube video which gives clear instruction for creating a
Nōtan design using simple material ......black paper , white paper, Scissors and glue:
Ref : 1. http://emerlyearts.blogspot.in/search/label/Kirigami2.
"Nōtan The Dark-Light Principles of Design" by Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield
. 3.http://skinnylaminx.wordpress.com/tag/papercuts-2/Note: Some of the picture above are taken from the internet and used only for education and inspiration . If I have violated any copyright issues , please send me comments and I will remove the associated picture.
This post is linked to ABC Wednesday
