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January 10, 2006
A Preference of Proportion
In "Prolegomena to a Psychology of Architecture," the art and architecture historian Heinrich Wolfflin concludes:
Therefore, the golden section with its proportion between restful matter and ascending force perhaps presents an average measure conforming to man. In fact, I think I have observed that thin people, constantly on the move, generally prefer slender proportions, while strong, stocky people select the opposite.
Wolfflin believed that psychology played a primary role in understanding and appreciating architecture, and he tightly connected "bodily habit" with "favored proportion." When I read his "Prolegomena," I felt that I had been intellectually vindicated.
You see, I am five foot nine, I have just passed the minimum weight requirement for donating blood... and I like tall, thin things.
I first remember this self-mirroring preference manifesting itself in my freshmen year art classes. My professor looked at my magnified, Georgia O'Keefe-esque painting of an anthurium, looked at me, and then rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. It showed up everywhere in drawing class. Objects in still life arrangements stretched upwards, bottles growing disproportionately long necks and the folds of fabric curving slowly and langorously. Even the cow skull was smoothly pulled into a longer, narrower form. One self-portrait I drew -- framing my neck and collarbone -- boasted proportions that would have made Parmigianino proud. We called my drawing "Elissa with the Long Neck" in honor of Pargmigianino's Mannerist masterpiece. Though I managed to dampen this unwitting elongation in my later paintings, hints still remained.
Sometimes, I wonder if it's getting worse. Our wedding invitations and programs were long and thin. Even our Christmas letter this year squeezed into a narrow, vertical format. When Noel and I are on walks together, I run to stand among the tall, swaying grass, and point out the tallest, thinnest buildings as my favorites. Friends buy me tall, thin gifts: panoramic picture frames, narrow-necked vases, and ridiculously long scarves.
According to Wolfflin, though, I can't help it. This...strong preference...for things of lengthier proportions is simply and understandably a function of my psychology. So, maybe we can go ahead and get this light sometime soon...
Confession | By elissa | 12:02 PM
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