*TODAY’S OBJECTIVES*TODAY’S GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF NOTAN.

1. First we will learn about the artistic elements involved in the creation of Notan.

These elements are:

-Positive and Negative space

-Geometric and Organic shapes

-Symmetry and Asymmetry

2. Next, we will look at the architecture of Frank Gehry; and how his work relates to the concept

of Notan.

3. Last, we will look at student examples of Notan Squares and make some of our own!

http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/explore.cfm

Positive and Negative Space

What is positive space in this picture?

The POSITIVE spaceIs black

The NEGATIVE spaceIs black

You can draw the stool simply by drawing the negative space that surrounds the stool.

The positive space is white and the negative is black

Geometric and Organic Shapes

Geometric Shapes

SHAPE is an ELEMENT of art

Organic Shapes

Symmetrical Balance

BALANCE is a PRINCIPLE of Art

SYMMETRYSymmetry means a mirror

image -- one side is the mirror image of the other. (Same on all

sides)

AsymmetryAsymmetry means without symmetry. There is no mirror

image. (Sides are different)

Frank Gehry. Architect & Artist.

Here are some things to think about when you view

the work of Frank Gehry:

1.Why do you think Gehry used the artistic elements that we just

learned about?

2.Is Gehry’s architecture geometric, organic, or both?

3.Is Gehry’s architecture symmetrical or asymmetrical?

4.Do you think Gehry thought about negative and positive space

when he designed a building and why?

The Experience Music Project (EMP) is a museum of music history, located on the campus of Seattle, Washington's Seattle Center. The structure itself was designed by Frank Gehry,

Is this Organic or Geometric?

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles. Designed by Frank Gehry

Symmetrical or Asymmetrical?

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain. Designed by Frank Gehry.

Do you think the negative space

created by these structures is just

as important as the positive space?

Why?

Do you think Frank

Gehry thought about

negative space when

he created this

structure?

Now that we have learned about all the

elements involved in Notan, WHAT IS

NOTAN!?!

Let’s take a look at some examples of

Notan….

Notan

• Notan is the Japanese word for the relationship between dark and light

Notan: Expansion of the Square

Notan is a Japanese word which means "dark-light". The word, however,

means more than that. The principle of Notan as it relates to design is

defined as the interaction between positive and negative space.

Western culture tends to emphasize the positive aspect of design, with less

emphasis on the negative (background) space. The Eastern culture from

which Notan arose, seeks a more balanced view of the world, and of design

as it relates to the world. The classic yin/yang symbol is a reflection of this

desire for balance.

•.

•Notan, the interaction of positive and negative, or field

and ground, is the basis of all good design and exists all

around us. The "Expansion of the Square" exercise is one

Notan exercise designed to study the interaction of

positive and negative space.

Lao Tse

We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel;

But it is on the space where there is nothing that

the utility of the wheel depends.

We turn clay to make a vessel;

But it is on the space where there is nothing that

the utility of the vessel depends.

We pierce doors and windows to make a house;

and it is on these spaces where there is nothing that

the utility of the house depends.

Therefore, just as we take advantage of what is, we should

recognize the utility of what is not.

--Lao Tse (Translated by Arthur Waley in The Way and its Power. (Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston 1935)

“This poem, attributed to Lao Tse, was written

two thousand years ago in China. It is a poem

about Notan the basis of all design. Before Notan

or the meaning of this poem can be understood, it

must be experienced.”

Excerpt from: Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design by Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield

“What is dark is not light and what is light is not dark. This is the basis of all

design and an important guiding principle of art. It seems so simple but an artist can spend a lifetime exploring

the possibilities of light and dark.”

Is this example mostly a

Geometric or Organic shape

Notan?

Is this organic or geometric ?

Is this Notan Design Symmetrical or Asymmetrical?

Symmetrical or Asymmetrical?

In this Notan Design what is POSTIVE space and what is NEGATIVE space?

Here are some good examples:

So what now?You are going to create your own Notan Design

• Take your black paper square, and begin to cut shapes into the sides. DO NOT cut into the corners of the square. You want to maintain the shape of the square.

• You may choose to cut geometric, organic shapes, or both to create your design.

• Every time you cut out a shape from the square, it must be glued down as the mirror image from where it was originally cut.

• No pieces can be discarded. Every piece you cut away from the square needs to be glued down in its opposing position on the paper.

•Cutting through the center makes it hard. You will have to figure out which side to put the piece on. Beginners should avoid cutting through the center. Students who are advanced may challenge themselves by cutting through the center.

This use of light and dark translates shape and form into flat shapes on a

two-dimensional surface