Plasticity

Plasticity, is an unfamiliar term when used in connection to photography. The term, as it is used in art, or specifically flat art, like photography, means there is forward and backward apparent movement because of the colors used in relation to the shapes and placement in the picture.

Piet Mondrian is a classic example of plasticity in flat art. You may recall his work by remembering the art you saw that had black lines, a yellow square and a blue square, and you thought I could have done that. What you, nor I, could have done was pre-visualize the movement created by those colors, or in other words the plasticity of the flat surface he created.

True plasticity will give you a sense of colors and shapes coming forward or off the page and others receding almost deep into the flat surface, giving it a three dimensional feel. Look at the photo above. Do you feel the green wall coming forward while the red door, surrounded by blue, feeling as though it is going deep into the page? Yes, in reality that's the way it was but remember you are looking at flat art now. This also involves the concept of refocusing, which is the sensation the viewer experiences when looking at a photo. A sensation of actually feeling your eyes refocus even though what you are looking at is actually flat. It's a hard concept to wrap the thought process around and even harder to consciously try and make photographic images that demonstrate it.

Here are a couple more I made recently. Tell me what you think, did I accomplish it? Do you see the movement?