I read a very brief reference to this book on Thom Hogan’s site a few months ago, the snippet of info that he discussed piqued my interest and I quickly searched out and found an out of print (2000) soft bound copy for $30 from a book dealer in Atlanta. A few weeks later Thom posted up, that the book was now selling used for over $120, and that the author had notified Thom that a reprinting was in the works (April/2010), and that to wait for the price to settle back down.
Why the interest for this book ? Just because of a recommendation ? That may have started the ball rolling, but this 1991 release is a discussion of the psychology of art and how a few clear principles can help create an emotionally charged visual statement when arranged optimally. The preface of the book details the author’s journey and discovery process of the book’s core principles and further validation by external educational leaders.
This was not meant as a book for photographers but rather an evaluation for understanding how art and shapes are interpreted in Children’s books. What has been revealed is that these colors and shapes are very basic, as the author has explored one question: How does the structure of a picture affect our emotional response ?….. that here is a basic connection/collaboration between emotions and elements which the author had thought, taught and witnessed in her Cambridge classrooms.
What is so interesting, as I read the book, is that Molly Bang has revealed at our most primal level what elements we see and visualize and cause us to get excited about in an Image. She then uses these basic elements to build up a story around the ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ theme. Each flip of the page poignantly revealed how I visually interpreted these arranged elements. It was a fascinating trip thru the minds eye to my basic feelings and my interpretations of the books illustrations.
The results for me as an aspect of this journey into photography are revealed in my recent images Small Barn and Redwood Down. Both shots were framed up by tapping into my new found understanding of which shape elements and colors can create an emotional charge when prearranged inside a Digital Image.
Molly Bang,Picture This, Chronicle Books
Morning, Ed.
Thanks very much for your note – and for the two images. That little
barn looks so alone and bereft and also stalwart, ready to face
another few hundred snows, and it was fun for me to sort of go through
a checklist of why, and then that great writhing root mass against the
vertical living redwoods, how the verticals set it off so much more,
make the writhing mass more alive, themselves like sentinels or
witnesses.
Thank you for the review, for the images, and for the appreciation. It
is really quite bizarre to have the book be getting so well used after
all these years – but it also sure feels good to know it’s helpful!
Molly.