Denman W. Ross

“ Individuality expresses itself in spite of the limitation of terms and modes, and the work of one man will be very different from the work of another, inevitably. We may have Order, Harmony, Balance, or Rhythm in all cases, Beauty only in one case, perhaps in no case. It must be remembered how, in the practice of Pure Design, we aim at Order and hope [Pg 125] for Beauty. Beauty is found only in supreme instances of Order, intuitively felt, instinctively appreciated. The end of the practice of Pure Design is found in the love of the Beautiful, rather than in the production of beautiful things. ”

“ I refrain from any reference to Beauty as a principle of Design. It is not a principle, but an experience. It is an experience which defies analysis and has no explanation. We distinguish it from all other experiences. It gives us pleasure, perhaps the highest pleasure that we have. ”

“ In bringing tones into harmony, by one or another or all of these various methods, we must remember that when we have diminished the contrast of value and of color beyond a certain point the result is monotony, a monotony which may be undesirable. ”

“ Harmony is only one principle of composition in Design; we have two others which are equally important,—the principle of Balance and the principle of Rhythm. The principles of Balance and Rhythm are consistent with the greatest possible contrasts of tone. The tone-contrasts in forms of Balance and Rhythm may be strong, even harsh, and the appreciation and enjoyment of the Balance or of the Rhythm in no degree diminished. ”

“ The principles of Pure Design which are defined and illustrated in this book are the principles which should be followed in all applications of Design in the Arts and Crafts. In such applications, however, the ideals of design are often obscured by the consideration of materials and technical processes on the one hand, and of service or utility on the other. It will be worth while, therefore, for those who wish to bring Design into their work, whatever that is, to study Design in the abstract, Pure Design, so that they may know, before they undertake to use it, what Design is. ”

“ To be in Harmony two or more tones must have at least something in common, either value or color. If they have the same color they may be in the same degree of intensity, giving a Harmony of Intensities. Tone-Harmony resolves itself into Value-Harmony, Color-Harmony, and the Harmony of Intensities. The Harmony of Intensities lies between tones of the same color, when they are equally neutralized or neutralized in approximately the same degree. When different colors are neutralized we have the Harmony of a common neutrality or grayness of color. ”

“ When any unbalanced composition of tones is singly inverted upon a vertical axis and the movement of the composition follows the axis, either up or down, and this movement, up or down, is repeated, up or down, we get forms of Tone-Rhythm which are also forms of Symmetrical Balance. In the inversions and repetitions of the tone-composition we have Tone-Harmony. As the tones in the repeated composition have certain positions, measures, and shapes, the Harmony, the Balance, and the Rhythm are of Positions, Measures, and Shapes as well as of Tones ”

“ For the sake of Value-Harmony we diminish the range of values, making as little changes of color as possible, and only those changes of color-intensity which are inevitable. A complete and perfect Value-Harmony is, as a rule, undesirable because it means that all the colors are reduced to one value which gives a monotony of value. Approximate Harmony of Values is generally sufficient. The range of values is narrowed, the contrasts are diminished, and an even tonality is secured. That is all we require, in most cases, an approximation to one value. ”

“ The purpose of what is called art-teaching should be the production, not of objects, but of faculties,—the faculties which being exercised will produce objects of Art, naturally, inevitably. Instead of trying to teach people to produce Art, which is absurd and impossible, we must give them a training which will induce visual sensitiveness with æsthetic discrimination, an interest in the tones, measures, and shapes of things, the perception and appreciation of Order, the sense of Beauty. ”

“ I feel, myself, that the movement is to the right. In diminishing the scale of the motive and of the intervals we have, hardly at all, diminished the extent of the tone-contrast in a given angle of vision. See Fig. 41, p. 27, showing the increase of attractions from one visual angle to another. At the same time we come at the right end of the progression to two or more repetitions in the space of one. We have, therefore, established the attraction of a crowding together at the right end of the series. ”

“ There is no merit in the mere multiplication of features. It is a mistake. The rule of Pure Design, and it is the rule for all Design, is simplification rather than complication. As designers we ought to avoid additions, if possible. ”

“ To be satisfactorily seen as a single composition or group they ought to lie, all of them, within a visual angle of thirty degrees. We may, within these limits, disregard [Pg 23] the fact that visual attractions lose their force as they are removed from the center of the field of vision. As equal attractions in the field of vision, the dots in any unsymmetrical arrangement may be brought into a balance by weighing the several attractions and indicating what I might call the center of equilibrium. This is best done by means of a symmetrical inclosure or frame. ”

“ The circle is, of course, a perfect illustration of Measure and Shape-Balance on a center. The balance is also symmetrical. We have a Harmony of Directions in the repetition of the same change of direction at every point of the outline, and we have a Harmony of Distances in the fact that all points of the outline are equally distant from the balance-center, which is unmistakably felt.
Fig. 167
The Ellipse is another example of Measure and Shape-Balance on a center. In this attitude it is also an illustration of Symmetry.
Fig. 168
In this case we still have balance but no symmetry. ”

“ Fortunately, in all of these cases, the lines agree in tone and in width-measure. That means considerable order to begin with.
This problem of taking any terms and making the best possible arrangement of them is a most interesting problem, and the ability to solve it has a practical value. We have the problem to solve in every-day life; when we have to arrange, as well as we can, in the best possible order, all the useful and indispensable articles we have in our houses. To achieve a consistency and unity of effect with a great number and variety of objects is never easy. ”

“ You say it is beautiful because it gives you pleasure: but other things give you pleasure which are not beautiful. Pleasure is, therefore, no criterion of Beauty. What is the pleasure which Beauty gives? It is the pleasure which you have in the sense of Beauty. That is all you can say. You cannot explain either the experience or the kind of pleasure which it gives you.
While I am quite unable to give any definition or explanation of Beauty, I know where to look for it, where I am sure to find it. ”

“ It is important that the words which we use for the different colors should be well understood, that in using them we use them with the same meanings. By Red I mean the only positive color which shows no element either of Yellow or of Blue. It is the color which we often describe by the word crimson, and we produce it by the mixture of Rose Madder and Vermilion. By Yellow I mean the only positive color which shows no element either of Red or Blue. It is the color of the primrose which may be produced by the pigment Aureolin. ”

“ The beauty of any scheme of values and colors depends, not only upon the pigment-materials used, upon the sequence of values and colors chosen and upon the particular tones produced, but quite as much upon the relative positions and juxtapositions given to the tones, the quantities or measures in which they are used, and, lastly, the way in which the paint is handled. ”

“ Even when we disregard differences of intensity and consider simply the possibilities of value and of color, as shown in the general classification of tones according to value and color (Diagram of Values and Colors, p. 137) , we have still too many possibilities to consider, and our choice of tones is determined by accident or habit rather than by clear vision or deliberate preference. We shall find it worth while to limit our range in each experiment to some particular sequence of values and colors, or to some particular combination of sequences. ”

“ The additions have brought occult balance into the composition with Direction and Interval-Harmony. Arrangement “c” is less orderly than “b,” less orderly than “a.” It has, therefore, no value for us. There is no merit in the multiplication of features which it exhibits. The surface is “enriched” at the expense of Direction-Harmony, Interval-Harmony, and Shape-Harmony. There may be an approximation to an occult balance in arrangement “c,” but you cannot feel it unmistakably as you do in “b.” ”

“ Owing to the limitations of pigment-material, however, it is impossible to reproduce the intensities of the Spectrum satisfactorily. An approximation is all that we can achieve in painting.
THE SPECTRUM SEQUENCE AND
THE CIRCUIT OF THE COLORS 135. Having produced the scale of twelve colors in the values of their greatest intensities, and as intense as possible, we get an approximation to the Spectrum with this difference, that the color Violet-Red (Purple) which we get in pigments and mixtures of pigments does not occur in the Spectrum and, so far as we know, does not belong in the Spectrum. ”

“ All these considerations lead us to the definition of Symmetry. By Symmetry I mean opposite directions or inclinations, opposite and equal distances, opposite positions, and in those positions equal, corresponding, and opposed attractions on a vertical axis. Briefly, Symmetry is right and left balance on a vertical axis. This axis will be imagined when not drawn. In Symmetry we have a balance which is perfectly obvious and instinctively felt by everybody. ”

“ It is easy to get into a state of mind in which we dislike all contrasts. In this state of mind we find no æsthetic satisfaction except in monotony. Such a state of mind should be avoided. Monotony is the Nirvana of æstheticism.
168. We may have a Harmony in the repetition and recurrence of two or more contrasting, even strongly contrasting, tones. We may have Harmony in the repetition and recurrence of a contrast in which there is perhaps no Harmony. ”

“ The result is sure to be harmonious, no matter how strong the tone-contrasts are in the group or series, provided that the repetitions are well within the range of vision so that they may be compared, and the recurrence of the same effect of light appreciated. We must not be too near to the arrangement, for in that case the contrasts of the repeated group will be more noticeable than the even tonality of the all-over repetition. Every even, all-over effect of [Pg 170] light, no matter what the contrasts are which produce it, gives us the feeling of Harmony. ”

“ I am prepared to admit, however, that as Music, once created, being appropriate to the occasion when it is performed and to the mood of the listeners, may give pleasure to many persons, so Pure Design, once achieved, being appropriate to the time and the place of exhibition and to the mood of the beholders, may give pleasure to others besides the designer. ”

“ In all forms of design in which we have the concentric repetition of a certain outline we have, in connection with the feeling of a central balance, the feeling of a movement or movements toward the center. ”

“ Arcs having the same length but varying in both radius and angle may be felt to be in Measure-Harmony. It is doubtful, however, whether lines of the same length but of very different curvatures will be felt to correspond. If the correspondence of lengths is not felt, visually, it has no interest or value from the point of view of Pure Design.
68. Any line may be continued in a repetition or repetitions of its shape, whatever the shape is, producing what I call a Linear Progression. In the repetitions we have Shape-Harmony.
Fig. 77
This is an example of Linear Progression. ”

“ It is equally important, if we wish to produce an orderly as distinguished from a disorderly line, that we should have some general principle to follow in doing it, that we should be able to produce forms of Harmony or Balance or Rhythm in a line, if we wish to do so. ”

“ As you increase the color-intensity in any tone it attracts more attention, and unless you increase the intensity in the opposite tones there will be a disparity which will disturb your balance. When the intensity in any tone is too great, you can increase the color-contrast or the value-contrast of the opposite tones until the balance is achieved. ”