Making space : a practical and theoretical investigation into the construction of spatial illusion in painting

Abstract

This study is a practical and theoretical investigation into the construction of spatial illusion in painting. It looks into one of the fundamental paradoxes of painting – the question of how an object can also function as a space. Different solutions to this dilemma are discussed within a framework which sets up three spaces of painting: an ‘inside’ (the first space), a ’boundary’ (the second space) and an ‘outside’ (the third space). Michel Foucault’s concept of heterotopia is proposed as a possible analogy for this three-space structure. An overview of the spatial paradigms of the Renaissance, Modernism and post-Modernism is presented, with formal analysis of a number of key case-studies. The nature and function of the picture plane within each of these is examined, in particular with regard to its relative transparency or opacity and how this relates to negotiations between the three spaces of painting. An alternative spatial model to the transparent window, the opaque surface, and the flat-bed pictureplane is sought and found in the methodologies of collage and contemporary collage-painting, and in the conceptual and perceptual mechanics of trompe l’oeil painting. It is observed that both of these painting strategies open up the possibility of a picture plane which is neither transparent nor opaque, but both simultaneously. This sets in motion a perceptual and conceptual oscillation between paintingas-object and painting-as-space. Also, it is discovered that both collage-painting and trompe l‘oeil painting employ devices which construct spatial illusion that is projective instead of, or as well as, recessive. Because of this, it is proposed that the picture plane may be conceived of as a screen, or as a device used both for displaying and concealing. This allows for space to be created both behind and in front of it. The formal spatial possibilities and the metaphoric resonance of this concept are explored in a series of paintings which are built up in layers using a combination of digital tools and traditional painting techniques.