DESIGN AND COMPOSITION

Part 2, CRITIQUE: The Art in Taxidermy

by Stefan Savides

For this second critique article, I selected two pieces that demonstrate the use of movement as the backbone of their designs. Movement can be used in two ways, one to depict the subject matter in motion, and the other is the "movement" of the piece.

The "movement" of the piece is how your eye flows through the arrangement as you view it. Even a static, unmoving pose can offer movement through the compositional layout of all the parts. A piece with good composition will not have any dead ends. It's much like cruising through the woods. It's always much nicer if you can take a route that you don't have to back out of to get home.

In an action pose, the predominant flow of the piece is set by the direction of that action. In addition, the base and habitat materials should further support that flow. A piece does not have to be complicated and elaborate to be effective, yet it must be...

...Continued in the Summer 2001 Issue of Breakthrough.

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