Great art works its magic on us by, first
Getting us to Engage.
St. Croix River Crossing, Stillwater, MN - Houghton. WI,
What is she thinking?
The Mona Lisa draws us in because we want to know about her smile. And once we are engaged, then we notice her face, her pose, her clothes, the background and the colors.
Leonardo daVinci, Mona Lisa
What is he thinking?
Whatever it is, he is clearly thinking about something. His brain is focused within himself. The man’s shape tells us so. He is all curled in upon himself.
August Rodin. The Thinker
Shape can be all that’s needed.
This sculpture conveys “flight” without looking like a bird or man or any other object.
Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space
Bridges are Full of Shapes.
What ideas do those shapes convey?
If the shapes are well chosen, they convey…
How the Bridge Stands Up.
Sunniberg Bridge, Switzerland, Christian Menn
We can understand Bridges because we all have an innate understanding of gravity, strength and balance, gained from hard-won experience in learning to stand and walk, and from living with the very efficient forms of nature.
Strength
Tree branches are thickest where the forces are the greatest. Works for our arms and legs, too. Hold an arm out horizontally and feel the difference between the stress at your wrist and the stress at your shoulder.
Stability
It’s not just tennis players that know two legs are more stable than one.
Our innate understanding creates expectations of what a stable structure should look like. When a Bridge matches those expectations we are pleased, both with the Bridge and with ourselves for understanding the secret.
To most people Bridges embody a kind of magic. Somehow, they carry great weights across significant obstacles. People like to be let in on the secret: what makes them stand up? They get satisfaction from understanding how the trick is done.
La Barquetta, Seville, Jose Arenas
When a bridge does not meet those expectations, we feel a sense of unease, even dismay.
The unease begins with the question of whether the bridge is even safe, a question not easily answered if an observer can’t tell which part supports which.
Anywhere, USA, Unknown Author
How that Stability and Strength are conveyed also matters.
Simplicity, clarity and the direct routing of loads to the ground are important. Elegance, the exact radius of a curve, the smooth joining of parts, is the final step in the creation of great art.
Rich Street Bridge, Columbus OH,
There is a kind of human authority which makes a person stand out in a crowd simply because their movements and posture convey a powerful, controlled and self-assured personality.
– Sinclair Gauldie
Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Washington, DC,How art is perceived has been discussed by philosophers and scholars for centuries. For more informtion consult: