At first glance, the façade of a street-side café is painted with absolute
photorealism. On a deeper level, Heinze has arranged declining and interlocking
planes on the canvas in a manner that supports the optical quality of
the painting. Single-point perspective is used, with the vanishing point placed
dramatically to the extreme left of the composition. Heinze’s ability to render
reflections is amazing. |
A somewhat close-cropped shadow-blanketed side of a building fills this
composition. The clean façade, sharp detail and well-defined edges create a
cosmopolitan, upper-class impression. Two artistic elements rise above all others in importance: tone and shape. The
overall feel of this composition is heavy due to the overwhelming use of dense
values. Shapes touch, float near to each other and barely overlap. This unified
combination of dark tones and planar shape proximity create individual areas of
interest while simultaneously binding the entire composition together. Secondary
elements include line, color, rhythm and time.
Planes are inclined away from the picture plane in a consistent system of
implied parallel lines converging on a single vanishing point placed to the
extreme left of the composition. I believe static asymmetry is the most accurate
description of pictorial balance. Distribution of weight is not meant to draw
attention to itself, and doesn’t. An argument could be made that a vague sense
of approximate symmetry is used in vertical orientation.
Dominance: dense tones, rectilinear shapes, defined edges. Contrast: high-key
values in the lower-right quadrant (placed to perfection), curves provided by
letterforms and areas of vagueness created by backlighting.
The lower-right quadrant carries the most contrast and therefore the most visual
weight. Heinze’s use of incised edges lead the eye deeper into the composition
to areas of less contrast, or upward to the static reflection of the sky. Interpenetration
is present: Cross-directional lines of force and shapes, created by the sign,
create more tension and interest. Perspective is at an approximate eye-level of an average adult, looking upward at
a slight oblique angle. The picture plane is the only planar form oriented truly
perpendicular to the observer.
At its simplest level of description, Heinze has created what could be easily
mistaken for a photograph of an espresso café. More than a cursory glance reminds
the viewer of the hyper-realist works of the Dutch during the Renaissance. His deeply
respectful treatment of shape, tone, contrast, rhythm, volume and space create
an illusionistic work with meaning beyond the rendered subject.
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