essentÊrving±39

S T Y L I Z 1 X G THE F Ki l' R E

FlG 13.2 Nutcracker (pine), German folk carving: early twentieth century.

Approaching Stylization

This chapter is not about purely abstract work, whcre any connection with real objects is imaginary or only hinted at, but about a first stagc on rhc path towards abstraction. When we sec any creaturc wc noticc cercain aspects first: colour, posc, outlinc, cxpression. Some or all of these may bc contributing to total impact, but in stylization we tend to concentrate on one aspect only. If an image of a jaguar suggests speed we can simplify the animal in such a way that, while we are aware

FlG 13.3 Balinese head. NotÄ™ the exaggerated linÄ™ of the brows.

it is a jaguar we are looking at, we arc not distracted by details of fur or claws or exact muscle shapc. What we see is evcrything about the animal that contributes co the idea of speed. We simplify it by eliminating everything that does not emphasize speed and by stressing everything that does.

As I have said elsewhere, the carver (unless aiming for the exact replication which we associate morÄ™ with model-making) is bound to select and dcvclop forms unconsciously. Stylization is mercly making this a conscious process.

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