Normally
I have a taste for restricted color schemes, but in this case the widely varied
palette works well; it mimics the excitement and variety of urban city life.
The most effective component to this work is how effortlessly Thomasos places
the impression of a metropolis in the mind of the observer through rapid, rough
lines. The only source of contrast is their relative angles, alignment, and
dimensions of hue. |
This
work is an exceptionally strong example of what objective abstraction is meant
to be. The subject (a cityscape) is identifiable through only a handful of
elements: line (and their angles and proximities), color, value and purity. The
work is lush with the grimy excitement of city life. The primary visual element
of this work is line. They are short, wide and dense in treatment, oriented at perpendicular,
overlapping angles to each other to create what seem to be squat skyscrapers. Next, the elements of color, value
and purity are applied to the lines.
One
of the strengths of this work is how,
given the constricted elemental use, formulaic methods of building space are not employed. There is no change in line
edge treatment, adjustment in color purity or value from “front” to “back”, nor
is diminution used. All would be methods a beginning visual arts professional
would use to imitate depth, however Thomasos is able to build a strong, intuitive impression of depth
without variation on any of these points. How she accomplishes this is very
impressive.
Pictorially,
this work is rigidly balanced by both dimensions. Light, moderate and dense elements
are overlapped and mashed together in an equal manner. This work is dominated
by dense lines that unify to create a rough-textured pattern. This is
contrasted by the approximately balanced application of color, and full,
evenly-paced use of values and intensity. The homogenous quality of this work
causes the eye to swirl in circular patterns over the entire canvas. Typically,
this is to be avoided, however not having specifically identifiable areas of
gravity works exceedingly well in
this painting.
The
viewer seems to be floating in air, looking downward at an oblique angle at the
bustling cityscape. The frame crops the scene in a manner that gives the
impression that the elements extend in all directions without variation. Thomasos
“breaks” two guiding principles of visual design and still creates a beautiful
scene. Taken in total, the expert use of a limited pool of visual elements, the
calibration of their qualities, and intuitive spatial arrangement results in a
work that is truly unified and effective at inspiring a specific feeling in the
viewer.
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