Tipping the Balance
A Question of Dominance
The Figure/Ground Law in Graphic Narrative and Visual Storytelling
If we see an image, we immediately try to separate the foreground from the background. This can create an exciting dynamic and make the attention shift from front to back and back. The most famous example of this principle is the image of the two faces, or was it the vase….
Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher (1898–1972) was fond of this mind boggling method. He made mathematically-inspired works adding an extra layer of meaning with this visual playfulness.
This foreground background play has a tendency to become a gimmick. A good one if it’s well done but it can be used more subtle, less literary. It doesn’t have to include the perfectly matching positive and negative shapes. This figure/ground law is not about matching shapes, it is about the question of dominance between fore- and background.
