Experiment in "Negative Space"

1971- Experiment in "negative space."  For those of you who aren't heavy into photography, "negative space" is an area intentionally left open in a prominent way.  This creates an unusual composition in which the informational parts of a shot are on the periphery (or at least off center).


While one might expect this to create a sense of unbalance, the impact on the viewer is to force them to consider what's between the lines, the spaces that connect or separate other graphic components.  It engenders a more thoughtful appreciation of the subject matter, much as one might one day look down a side street while on the way to work and discover a whole new micro-world or feeling that was always there in the shadows but drowned out by the blinding light of what's directly in front of you.  I believe this was my first attempt at that kind of composition, which I have revisited many times in the decades since.

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