Customer Reviews

The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry (Dover Art Instruction)

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Hambidge writes about design principles found in nature which can be applied to the work of the artist and designer. Since the time of the ancient Egyptians, these compositional techniques have been used to give proportion, symmetry, and beauty to buildings, sculpture, paintings, etc. Because of their complexity and rigor, the principles are no longer taught widely, but they are useful for any artist or designer interested in making compositions which appeal to humans' unconscious sense of proportion. The book is old, and a little difficult to understand, but Dover has reproduced it well.

I purchased this book because an artist friend of mine was using the term "dynamic symmetry" while evaluating my paintings for an art exhibit in Colorado. He concluded that my paintings were of outstanding quality, as he could see that I had used "dynamic symmetry" in all my compositions. I did not know that term, so I guess this is something I have done intuitively for many years without even realizing it. An artist friend and mentor of his was very much into this concept for his own paintings, and would "mark" his surface before beginning any drawings or applying the first stroke of paint to a canvas. Even though I have a degree in Art Education, I have never heard anyone use this term before, so I did a search and found this book. I am also very much into detail, so, fortunately, the book offers great explanation and disgrams of all the different types of symmetry that can be seen in both the natural and creative worlds. I find this book to be highly intriguing, yet very technical, so find a quiet place and be prepared to apply a great deal of concentration while reading it. I am still in the process of reading this book. I may try to "conscientiously" apply this "dynamic symmetry" to some of my artwork, once I get it all figured out, though I prefer painting intuitively. I hope this newfound knowledge will not cause me to be overly analytical when creating my own artwork or enjoying other artists' creations, but the book truly is fascinating. P.S. Break out your straight edge and compass. Doing a little drawing will help you understand these concepts more easily.

This book explains in great detail the concepts of Dynamic Symmetry, but from a practical point of view, teaches you nothing. It fusses about how the Greeks used Dynamic Symmetry in their sculpture, which, supposedly, is why Greek sculpture is so fascinating, but does NOTHING to explain to me how I can use those same principles in MY design work. Though the Greeks are often mentioned, there is NOT ONE example of how these principles have been practically put to use in, say, one of their pieces of art... or anybody's work, for that matter! Not ONE example!

Just a sample: "In a root-two rectangle BD is equal to 0.7071 and BC 1.4142 and 0.7071 multiplied by 2 equals 1.4142. This is a geometrical fact of great value to design and should be carefully considered". Reading the whole book from cover to cover did not tell me how to use that thing of great value in a piece of graphic design.

Bottom Line: If you are the kind of person who likes a LOT of theoretical stuff, this is the book for you. If you actually want to learn how to use Dynamic Symmetry in your work (like I hoped to do), this is not the book.

The concept of Phi (The Golden Ratio) is the foundation of classical art and design. They're somewhat simple principles that can yield a complex array of artistic applications. Elements of Dynamic Symmetry is full of useful knowledge on this subject, but is definitely not for beginners.

If you're unfamiliar with Phi and the Golden Ratio by no means should you start with this book. The writing is very dense and confusing, with little more than dry diagrams to illustrate points. And it doesn't help that the author constantly refers to the Golden Rectangle by the more arcane term "Rectangle of the Whirling Squares."

It does go into more detail than other books I've read on the subject. Even if a fair bit of it was flying over my head I did learn some geometric relationships and ways to construct forms that I hadn't seen before.

The actual artistic (or even scientific) application of all this is effectively nonexistent in this book. In the end you'll know many ways to construct and arrange these elements, but have no idea what to do with them.

I'd personally recommend Geometry of Design, Revised and Updated (Design Briefs) as a good starter book on learning this stuff and using this book to extend your knowledge later on.

For those who need to understand Industrial Design, its aesthetics, symmetry and creativity operations is one of the classic books. If an industrial designer believes that, before any project, it is necessary to build a structural grid, and a "philosophical" geometric principle, The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry, by Jay Hambidge, is one of those books.

by Prof. Luiz Vidal Gomes, PhD, Brazilian industrial designer.

This book is entirely theoretical on the issue of dynamic symmetry. And be warned, its manner is that of a geometry or mathematics treatise, not a discussion of the aesthetic aspects of geometric design.

I studied with an art teacher whose specialty was the golden section, and geometric design, etc. He assigned this book as required reading. In his lectures he asserted over and over the essential importance of root rectangles, phi rectangles, etc. He used a projector to demonstrate the presence of these linear and area relationships, usually by superimposing the armature of a rectangle over the image.

By this method, many interesting relationships were exposed, with the implication being that "master artists" of the past were employing secret geometric design knowledge. But despite these insights, I never learned how (from him) to apply this knowledge to my own art.

The Hambidge book is particularly inapplicable as well. As I said, it is purely theory... geometric theory.

I have concluded that the application of geometric design to drawing and painting is complex beyond the ability of most artists to conceive. Basically, it involves comprehending methods of dividing space in symmetrical and proportional manners, both in terms of line and mass. Such systems are inherently complex.

Practicing artists will want a quick-and-dirty approach, but I really don't think such a thing is possible. There are a few rules of thumb floating around out there... such as dividing space in thirds, or not composing in squares, or not dividing the space down the middle, etc. These are ok ideas, but they have very little to do with the advanced ideas presented in this book, and they have nothing to do with the high-end of geometric design theories.

I believe that the only way to utilize these theories fully is to first understand the theories in a fully theoretical sense. One must become a geometry specialist, with no particular concern for artistic application. Once this state of knowledge is achieve, the mind will be able to work with line and space in a fluid way. Only when one achieves this fluidity can the promise of these theories be achieved. It is to be assumed that Greek and Renaissance artists were well schooled in geometric theory.

But the problem for contemporary artists is that they are NOT schooled in geometry or mathematics. To become a geometry specialist is probably VERY boring to most contemporary artists. I actually have some mathematical background, and I find it boring too. To be clear... the idea that one can apply geometric theory to art making is really exciting... but this prerequisite that one has to first immerse oneself in geometry for it's own sake is very very tiresome... and probably not even possible, considering the dichotomy between art and science that exists in our society.

So like I said... this book is geometry for its own sake. It's interesting if you can focus and put energy into reading and thinking about it. And the feeling you get as you do this is the excitement that you can apply this to art making. But the book NEVER delivers any application to art at all. NONE. ZERO. You will need to grasp these theories AS THEORY, and think about geometry purely, before you can ever utilize this knowledge.

This book opened my eyes to what is fully possible in painting.