For my image, I decided to use one of Goossens’ paintings. Though I don’t’ know the name of the piece, I made this selection because of how Goosens seems to format his imagery. In nearly every work of art I’ve seen of Goosens’, there seems to be one item that’s put in the foreground, while something simultaneously appears in the distance, with various, simplistic line decisions that keep the eye flowing from one element to the next.
In the normal, unedited piece, Goosens’ use of lines and shape are visibly apparent. Given the rounded, soft, cool colors of the piece, what immediately draws one’s attention is the giant book in the sky. The size of the book, in and of itself, plays into Goosens’ choices with lines, shapes, and depth cues, but I’ll get into that later.
By having the book be the first thing the viewer sees, it becomes the main focus of the piece. In the shape of the book, the lines created by the book’s edges draw the eyes to the corner. That corner, then, causes another line as one’s eyes follow the drip into the horizon. Because of the visual intensity and contrast between said droplet and the brightened grass below, the viewer’s eyes then wonder across the horizon and explore the rest of the piece.
As I mentioned earlier, Goosens uses quite a few depth cues to emphasize the book’s size and add to the overall space of the compilation. By not having the droplet cross the horizon line, an implication is made that the book hovers above the ground, adding to the book’s perceived size. Additionally, Goosens uses darker, faded colors for the greens on the horizon line, giving even more depth to the scene.
When cropping for my close-up portion, I mostly aimed to highlight how important Goosens’ techniques were in the original. However, in my image, some of our framing topics can still be seen. Through color changes, there is still implied depth in the new image. Additionally, while not exactly on the mark, one of the spots of light as well as a cloud seem to almost line up with two of the horizontal lines from the rules of thirds. Ultimately, though, I mainly wanted to display just how different the effect of an image can have without proper framing.
Either way, both images seem to exemplify the binary terms of “Active / Didactic,” and “Conscious / Subconscious.” Because the image is an abstract, we’re very much left to actively search out the information and meaning that is being transferred to us. This piece actively makes you think. However, due to the conscious / subconscious elements, I would not be surprised if most people came to a similar conclusion.
The use of blue and green colors often subconsciously reminds one of nature and the environment, while books often symbolize knowledge and education. Coupled with the obvious waves on the book’s page, leading to a drop pouring off the end, I’d say that most people would find similar meaning in the work if asked to. Even, possibly, in the resized portion.
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