Principle:
The word ‘contrast’ comes from the Latin ‘contra’ and means being ‘against’
Principle:
CONTRAST
CONTRAST ><
Labyrinth, oil on canvas, 44 x 42 in., Elizabeth Niles Stockton
Contrast depends on opposing forces Contrast, or conflict, is the area where the two greatest opposite elements (line, shape, value, mass or color) clash. It’s like the edge-of-the-seat moment in a movie when the hero fights the mother-of-all-demons. Too much conflict fries your nerves. Too little is a snoozer. There’s a wide range between the two extremes. The question is: how much conflict?
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Opposites excite each other when placed in proximity. In fact, you never fully get a real sense of an element without a hint of its opposite. The contrast of the two create a relationship that’s stronger than the individual pieces, building a experiential space that can’t been seen but has to be felt.
