Monday, 6 February 2017

Henri Matisse Shape Experiment

In the later stages of Henri Matisse's life, he developed a skill in cutting and sticking shape together to create abstract forms based on reality. They are described as 'pulsating with energy', which could be because Matisse did them so spontaneously.

By randomly cutting shapes out from an M I created a spontaneous arrow, which was to communicate a direction of energy and speed. However, by looking at this from another angle I was able to see that the cuttings from the M could also be used to create a composition. 



 

This design was more fluid and natural, yet it had no purpose and lost some of the urgency that much of Matisse's work has. His work shows 'extraordinary bursts of expression' which is perhaps important for symbols. Hoffman has also said symbols must “radiate movement, tone values and forms as forces.” Suggesting for a sign to be followed it must have energy to motivate people to do the action. 


The human form especially can be something expressive and subjective, so I juxtaposed a women's body with the idea of a 'no stopping sign.' This had the energy aspect of the design, however I found it became too playful and would not have worked as a directive sign. 

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