Ann, I’m probably at fault here by rabbiting on so much about secular and religious history and the like. I can’t help it - I think about something and all these incredibly interesting segues appear in my mind, and they HAVE TO BE FOLLOWED. Google is my secret lover, my wanton pursuit of pleasure. My astrologer best friend says I’m a textbook Gemini (
rizole ) and I know way more about astrology than any self-respecting psychologist should.
[i just did it again
]
Point is I should prob keep to myself the length and breadth of my meanderings — and post the bits most relevant to the theme. Which everyone else seems to manage perfectly well.
That point is ‘Juxtaposition’ = ‘compare and contrast’. Diptych means juxtapose two separate images. [imo less demanding than getting the compare ad contrast in one].
So we put together two images in which the pairing:
- is aesthetically pleasing
- makes something ordinary become extra-ordinary
- makes something with a standard meaning take on a new meaning
- shows one subject in two different lights
- makes us laugh
- makes us cry
- repeats or contrasts the fundamentals of art: subject, line, shape, palette, etc
- pleases us for some other reason
We’re here to learn from each other (how many tutorials have you offered to our enduring gratitude?). If the juxtaposition isn’t clear to you, it’s likely unclear to others. Ask. (From another artist it’s called ‘feedback’ and it turn out to be a really helpful q). Personally, I love it when when the artist says something about the piece - I feel I have another layer of appreciation for the work. Maybe we should ask people to do more of that?
The juxtaposition makes for
an abstraction. Because the reader has to make a whole out of two parts. Ie it’s not one representational image. It might be two representational images, but the two together point to something more. The sum is greater than the parts.
I hope that helps. If it doesn’t I will abdicate in
sinnerjohn ’s favour any future opportunities I might have to choose a theme