Contrast, Balance, Harmony

Light creates darkness, and darkness creates light. The fact that contrast exists on a spectrum, and contrast's subsets (position, size, orientation) are relative is the theoretical basis of many design principles. This image shows a man in a dark theater with a white scrim bathed in purple light. "If you shine a green light on a red apple in a pitch black room, what color is the apple?" That's a common brainteaser my 5th grade art teacher would pose to my classroom. As far as I can remember, he never gave us a definitive answer, but I do remember I was of the opinion that under the circumstances the apple would be green. Whatever the purpose of that lesson, it now strikes me as an interesting example of the relativity of color, one of the elements of contrast. Although the purple is very pretty in this image, cascading down the vertical folds of the scrim, It is really the blacks that create the dramatic dynamic. Silhouettes like the one of the man pictured are created by a lack of front light, and without that front light, a stark color contrast is drawn between areas in front of the light and the areas behind the light. since the position of the objects in the image directly affects their color, light is a contributor, or indicator of  both position and orientation. Were the objects in the picture in a different arrangement, they would not have the same effect. The dramatic silhouette could be lost, and the contrast would lessen.

There are many other examples of contrast in this piece. There is the obvious differences in textures and size between the human curvature and the straight lines of the pillars. The vertical pillars excite the eye, and are similar to the vertical drape of the curtain in the back. The brightness ranges from pitch black to a washed out bright purple against the scrim, with the majority of values taking place on the scrim itself. That is where we can see a dramatic change in intensity. The beam angle almost creates a human form against the curtain. One can almost see a face...

Since we are largely stripped of our ability to realize position in this image, the figure and ground are recognized by the way that light bounces off of their angles. Otherwise, there is very little information given visually. One probably would not guess that the object in the bottom left is a baby grand piano with it's cover on. Dramatic lighting is one of my favorite tools in theater. Correctly applied, it can impact an audience in a very profound way. Although it's true that images like the one above can be pretty, the true impact stems from the mystique, the entrancing nature of theater and the desire for catharsis, among other things. I would say "emotion aside, this is what's working here," but I don't think that would be right. Emotion is a factor, as it should be. Much of what theater deals with is bringing to light the contrasts of our world. Anton Chekhov once said the purpose of theater was not to answer a question, but to ask one. This entire ideology is what the world of theater rests upon, it is the context of this piece.