SPACE

In art, there are 7 main elements that contribute to creating a work of visual art
including: line, shape, form, space, colour, texture and value. These are the things
that allow viewers to understand the structure and depth of an artwork, whether the
work is in implied form, relief form or real form. As such, space – as one of the
elements, plays a great role in many forms of art: photography, paintings,
sculpture… and many more.

To understand how space works in art, and the ways artists optimize space in their
works, it is vital for us to know the definition of space. According to Encyclopaedia
Britannica, space is a boundless, three-dimensional extent that have a relative
position and direction. Generally speaking, space is an area that surrounds and
includes other elements of visual art. Space can be everything and nothing, it can be
real or just an illusion. Additionally, viewers are also included in the space of an
artwork while they observe and interact with it, whether physically or spiritually.

From what I have concluded, there are 4 types of space in art: Positive and Negative
spaces, Deep and Shallow spaces. The first 2 space aspects can contribute in various
types of art under both implied form and real form such as painting, photography,
sculpture, installation. The other two spaces are only available for viewers when we
observe a picture plane of visual artworks. Despite being limited in comparison, each
kind of space still has its own pictorial effects when being combined with other art
elements. Intrinsically, the space that is utilized by artists can give rise to feelings of
the audience while viewing their artworks. In addition, it is common for viewers to
understand the meanings and communicate with the art pieces on a physical and
spiritual level through space.

For the longest time, Positive and Negative spaces have played the main role of
demonstrating each piece of artwork, showing viewers what to look at and what to
consider the background of which. An easier interpretation for these spaces’ types is
“active and passive area” of the subject matter. The active or positive space stands
for the main object of interest in the art creation, which is meant to be focused on. In
contrast, the passive or negative space is often considered a background for the
main object.

There exist also artists who often take advantage of the Positive and Negative rule
to create paintings with optimized spaces, confusing viewers on which is the main
area and which is the object-surrounding area. Therefore, it is true to say that these
two spaces can also switch roles with one another depending on the artwork.
Furthermore, not only do they co-exist, but they take turn to complement the
other’s beauty. Be that as it may, too much positive space can make the audience
uncomfortable and builds up an overcrowded feeling whilst too much negative
space can provoke an empty, lonely feeling.

Up until now, there are different forms of art that make constant use of Positive and
Negative spaces. For example, a sculpture is a real form of artwork that can be
viewed in multiple perspective in real life. Considering the sculpture can be placed in
a setting, the sculpture’s existence become the positive space that attracts the
audience while the background surrounding it turns into the negative space. In some
cases, land art is also an interesting way of approach in sculpture. Being created in
the nature by natural materials that can easily be found, land art creations tend to
blend in with its background rather than stand out as an active space. Likewise,
many installations have space inside and outside of them, allowing visitors to
interact with the space by going into the architecture itself and experience the
surroundings. However, for artworks in implied form, viewers can only see and feel
the space that is illustrated and cannot physically connect with such space the same
way as a real form of art creation.

Olafur Eliasson, born in 1967, is one of the famous artists of 21th century for his
involvement in a wide range of fine arts: he is a painter, sculptor, architecture,
director for films and a photographer. So far, he has opened a large number of
exhibitions for his artworks, as well as coming up with various art creation which are
mostly installations. Eliasson tends to work with nature and creates artworks that
allow people to immerse themselves in the space.
This installation work here was set up in 2003 and was widely known as “The
weather project”. Along with his desire to recreate nature and produce a massive
installation, the artist has come up with the idea of imitating the sun in the Turbine
Hall at the museum of Tate in London. At the time, visitors would come and fully
submerge themselves in front of the artificial sun that Eliasson created. Additionally,
viewers were prone to do enjoy their time at the museum as if they were on a beach
and were exposed to the real sun. Hence, the artist considered this as one clear
evidence for his success in making and exhibiting installation works. In this
installation, it is obvious that the sun was the Positive space and the surrounding
area was the Negative space.

After his success in 2003, Eliasson continued to produce various other sculptures and
installations with one of them being “Under the weather” which was created in
2022. The exhibition included a screen that is hung up high, inviting visitors to come
and stand under it. Providing with a moiré pattern, the work shows a variety of looks
depending on who and how a person looks at it from different perspective.
Therefore, the whole environment was the Passive space, which complements the
Active space – the flickering screen with its tricking pattern.

Following the footstep of Eliasson, Refik Anadol is a contemporary Turkish artist

who was born in 1985. His ideal of art creations was to present the challenges and
various possibilities that appears in this modern age. He is into building up
architectural environment that was a mix between art and technology of science.
Hence, his performances often include a large digital screen that shows various
illustrations of space with organic forms of creations.
 “Quantum memories” is one of the
artificial works of art Anadol came up
with in 2020. The LED screen here
demonstrates the transitions of colours
and forms inside of what seems to be a
white box. This installation was
inspired by quantum physics, showing
the fluctuation of an artificial scenery.
For this piece of work, the Positive
space which is the silky creation,
continuously changes over time while
being separated from reality by just a
screen. The Negative space also moves
and gradually turns into the object,
becoming the Positive space.

The next artwork is entitled “Machine Hallucinations – Space: Metaverse”, which

was set up to be exhibited during the start of October, 2021. This is a vibrant
collection which includes a large number of artworks, which was shown through
digital screens under the form of a video loop. Taking advantage of machineries,
Anadol provides visitors with spectacular views of the subconscious mediums. It is
worthly noted that the Active space here was no longer a part of what was shown on
the screen, but rather the whole screen itself. The dark surrounding space then
become the Negative space, enhancing viewers experience while watching the
performance.

The following type of spaces are Deep and Shallow, which are a reference to three-
dimensional and two-dimensional spaces of the implied forms’ artworks. When
dividing the depth of these artworks’ types into 3 separate parts, we respectively
have: foreground, middle ground and background. As the names suggest, shallow
space occurs when an artwork is flat, or in other words, has a two-dimensional space
that does not consist of depth. Consequently, the middle ground does not appear in
such artworks. Objects in two-dimensional piece of art, for that reason, is seen to
stay on one same surface altogether while the background sinks to the behind.

As an Abstract painter, Sofia Areal is an artist that has recently rose to the surface
once again with her drawings. Born in 1960, this woman has created a large quantity
of paintings and has had them exhibited outside of her native country. She believes
that her work is a combination of rough brushworks which intensifies emotions, and
a smooth surface of the canvas with bold colours.

This Abstract – Expressionism painting

was created in 2017. Along with a
vibrant hot pink colour in the middle,
this artwork gives away an intense
feeling, which is soon to be balanced
out by other colour. This drawing is the
ideal example for two-dimensional or
Shallow space artworks, which despite
the fact that is does include space,
there is no depth found in the painting.

Deep space, however, refers to a three-dimensional space with height, width and
depth. As a result, subject matters of the work can be seen as staying on the middle
ground, foreground or background. When being combined with other art elements
and techniques such as linear perspective, sizes, details on objects; or different
compositions, a three-dimensional environment and subject matters can be made
within a deep space to mimics our space in reality. This kind of space in art is the
most famous when it comes to Realism art movement because of the natural
background along with other pictorial effects of the subject matters.

Opposed to the Abstract art of Areal, Cihan Bektas – an Australian artist is a

photographer, who loves to work with black and white photos. Hence, his artworks
give off the obvious depth due to a wide range of grey acting as the tones for depth.
Bektas ideal goal for art is to let viewers see and feel perceptions and thoughts on a
visual level.
 This black and white photo here is
called “Quaranzine” and was taken
during the pandemic in 2021. This
photo demonstrates the fear of being
alone while the world continues to
change every day. The depth is visible
with hues of black and shapes of
shadows forming on the fabric of the
main protagonist. Bektas has taken
the picture from a closed distance,
creating an illusion of cramped up
space. This composition has built up
an invisible boundary, showing the
isolation with the outside world of the
protagonist. The model’s curl-up pose
also plays a role in expressing the
loneliness and timidity.

In conclusion, Space is an important element that cannot be excluded in art as it

appears everywhere and contains everything. The way artists apply many
techniques into their work in order to make the most out of space has confirmed the
artistic value of space itself. Thanks to the 4 kinds of space, artists can convey the
mood, their internal thoughts and sceneries more clearly through their artworks.
Space not only help to balance out various factors and highlight the contrasts, but
also contributes to the unity of other elements in a work of art.

Citations:

Anadol, R. (2023) Refik Anadol / media artist + director, Refik Anadol. Refik Anadol.
Available at: https://refikanadol.com/ (Accessed: April 17, 2023).

AREAL, S.O.F.I.A. (2022) Shop SOFIA AREAL, SOFIA AREAL. Available at:
https://sofiaareal.com/shop/ (Accessed: April 17, 2023).

Artincontext (2022) Space in art - a look at the definition of space in art, artincontext.org.
Available at: https://artincontext.org/space-in-art/ (Accessed: April 15, 2023).

Bektas, C. (no date) Cihan Bektas: Contemporary Australian photographer, SINGULART.

Cihan Bektas. Available at: https://www.singulart.com/en/artist/cihan-bektas-33871
(Accessed: April 17, 2023).

Eliasson, O. (no date) Artworks • studio olafur eliasson, Studio Olafur Eliasson. Olafur
Eliasson. Available at: https://olafureliasson.net/artworks/ (Accessed: April 17, 2023).
Kumar, M. (2023) Elements of art space – how to use space in art?, MadhansArt.Com.
MadhansArt.Com. Available at: https://madhansart.com/art/art-basics/elements-of-
art/elements-of-art-space/#Conclusion (Accessed: April 17, 2023).

Space in Art: Overview & Examples (no date) Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn
College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers. Available at:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/space-art-overview-
examples.html#:~:text=Deep%20space%20is%20the%20depth,of%20height%2C%20
width%2C%20and%20depth (Accessed: April 14, 2023).

What is space in art? examples and definition (no date) Widewalls. Available at:
https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/space-in-art (Accessed: April 17, 2023).