This photograph balances positive and negative space.
Every image we see is made up of positive and negative space, whether it be on a canvas or in the landscape of a park. Many professionals, such as architects, musicians and artists, utilize the effects of positive and negative space to enhance the spatial planning of cities and buildings or the caesuras in well-crafted songs. Although similar, the terms positive and negative space have a unique meaning in regard to art.
Positive Space
Positive space is comprised of the shapes and forms that make up a picture, painting or photograph. This is the space (usually an object) that immediately draws your eyes when first looking at a piece of art. In a portrait, the image of the person painted is considered positive space.
Negative Space
Negative space is the area that surrounds the shapes and forms (positive space) that make up a picture, painting or photograph. Negative space helps focus the eye onto the positive space. In a portrait, the area, sometimes called dead space, around the person painted is considered negative space.
Balance
There must be a balance between negative and positive space. Traditionally, negative space frames positive space, structuring a viewer's eye around the subject of a painting. Negative space not only creates the shapes and forms of a picture, but enhances them. For instance, most prefer watching a movie on a theater screen over a television. On a large theater screen there is more negative space, which allows people to better focus on the images of characters and settings, as opposed to a television screen that condenses pictures to mostly positive space.
Black and White in Art
Positive and negative space are most apparent in black and white drawings. You have probably seen the clever black and white depictions of silhouettes that present two images, such as a face looking at you in positive space, and a face looking away in negative space. Black usually represents positive space, and white represents negative space framing it into shapes. By experimenting with the two colors and their roles, there are endless opportunities with positive and negative space in art.
