Rytmens estetik, formens kraft

Doctoral thesis, 2008

We meet rhythm as a concept for composition within all forms of art. In this thesis I discuss visual and spatial rhythms. In my research I have reflected about how one via rhythmisation can build up the feeling of a work’s internal movement. The objective of my thesis is to present a model for reading a work of art and for the generation of new artefacts. In a comparative study of some sculptures by the constructivist sculptor Naum Gabo (1890-1977) and two churches by the baroque architect Francesco Borromini (1599-1667) I have chosen to show how one can construct and work with rhythmic sequences. Why I have chosen just these artists is because their works contain a rich amount of movement. My experience as a sculptor has guided me in the task of analysis and I have thereby utilised a basically theoretical method. The ability to draw constitutes an important basis for the understanding of three-dimensional design and to work with ones own body as a reference is natural when working with form. To draw/sketch means that one systemises, analyses and visualises. In this investigation I demonstrate how by working with direction and movement in relationship to balanced points within a whole configuration one can communicate a feeling of drive in a sequence. This way of working is both spatial and temporal. In my analysis of the truncated corner in the works of both the sculptor Naum Gabo and the architect Francesco Borromini I demonstrate general patterns of rhythmisation, where the contrast between concave and convex forms together generates a feeling of movement, when we read them in relationship to the plane as a point in balance. Through working in this way an artist activates the surrounding space. I also show how the movements of our own body and experience of movement can enhance the feeling of rhythmic sequences of form. This constitutes the basis for my model for analysis that not only applies to sculpture and architecture but also is applicable to larger structures, such as public environments, where a meaningful and coherent wholeness is sought after.