Mosaic art in the age of curves
This is undoubtedly the era of celebrating all shapes, but mostly curves and mosaic art is right there to support the movement in its own sensible and meaningful way. This is simply because the best mosaic artwork is equivalent to and implicated by — curves. How so? Well, let’s explain and chat about the sheer bootyliciousness (oh, look, a new word!) of mosaic art!
Some general rule with art is that there are 5 main types of lines: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, zigzag, and curved lines. However, if you really think about it those can simply be summed up as two types — straight and curved lines, with straight lines having 4 types under their wing, and curved lines being just — curved. I guess you could say that straight lines aren’t interesting enough on their own, so they had to have some sub-types included so they could try to match their counterpart — the curved beauties. *wink wink
This last sentiment is, of course, a joke. We don’t discriminate lines here at Mosaics Lab and all of them are welcome to stay and have their fun. However, mosaic art simply looks better when it is done in curved lines. Just browse through our catalog or any mosaic catalog or collection for that matter, and you will realize what I’m talking about. There are several reasons for this.
Straight lines are pretty improbable and close to impossible in nature. There are some exceptions, like the endless shiny line of the open horizon, or the sharp little spikes of the hedgehog. Nevertheless, almost every other thing in nature will be anything but a line. Our world thrives on little imperfections, that’s what makes it exciting and beautiful. It’s the same way with art, or more precisely, mosaic art.
The other reason is that straight lines are simply more common in architecture and man-made objects that surround us. That automatically makes them more ordinary and subsequently more boring. They are there almost by default, we are trained to look at them and not overthink them. A curved line, on the other hand, is a different story…
In mosaic art and any other art for that matter, curves suggest movement and motion. Our eyes are adjusted to look in straight lines over the surface of the image. At the same time curve will appear to move the whole image closer or further away from the focus point. Simply put, curved lines give mosaic artwork life and vibrancy.
That is one more thing. In art, vibrancy is usually synonymous with color. But if you start thinking in terms of lines, you will quickly realize that colors aren’t the key. A curvy black line will always look livelier than a straight yellow one. The illusion of movement is what makes it look alive and playful.
Before you start overthinking this article and making it into some great metaphor for genders, political correctness, or life in general, let me just tell you that this isn’t the case of the matter. Unlike the world and everyday life, this article really is a straight line (touche), and lines and their commonness and beauty are all we really talked about here.
This article was originally published on Mosaics Lab’s website.
