The first time I saw this I had no idea what to think. It seemed pointless, a
bunch of semicircular tubes arranged on the ground. Now I can appreciate it for
the deliberate and experimental way it manipulates formal elements every person
is sensitive to, even if they do not realize it. |
Not a painting, but an arrangement of steel half-circles on the “canvas” of the
floor. Nour creates, through this single shape, cohesion, harmony, rhythm,
movement and disorder. In addition, the underlying meaning of this work is
personal to the artist and his childhood.
The single basic visual unit in this work is repeated dozens of times. The nature
of this unit’s curve, metallic surface texture and perpendicular orientation to
the ground are all repeated. They vary in size, angle and spacing as the eye
advances into the work. Near to the front, they are arranged more predictably. In spite of elemental differences, in total the qualities Nour adjusts combine to create a sense of rhythmic organization.
When viewed from the front, the work in total is somewhat
asymmetrical because of the flow of energy and increasing chaos from front-to-back.
Otherwise, this work is “pictorially” balanced. Through Nour’s careful and professional manipulation of visual elements, he
creates an impression of grazing animals (as the title implies) from
near-to-front. It is as if the front portion of this work is a sort of “warm up”
to the following arrangement.
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