The chapter begins by noting the complexity and busyness of everyday life but reminding us that it is in fact impossible to do more than one thing at a time and that there is no time but now. This segues into an exercise in form. The approach here differs from others I’ve seen in emphasizing the importance of space in defining form. The authors’ relate that their students sometimes refer to this exercise as sticks in space. Many of the examples feature an item clearly isolated against a monocolor background, a technique that may evoke Japanese aesthetics, such as a large rock in a garden of manicured pebbles.
With form in mind I took a walk through Qusais to see what could be seen. Some of these images are more obvious than others. The street sign against a blue background is a clearly defined shape against a solid background, as is the blue bucket in green water (it really was that color) and the white trashcan against brick and concrete. But how about the living forms? Though we tend to look at the detail, the man is a shape against the wall (though the picture could perhaps better accentuate shape by being shot closer and at a more oblique angle to make the background a bit more uniform). The cat is also a shape, though somewhat less well defined given how well the coloring of his extremities matches the stone. The car is an obvious shape, but the man looking out is what most calls our attention.
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