The imperfection of symmetry
Journal Title: Architectus - Year 2015, Vol 19, Issue 4
Abstract
The article presents considerations on symmetry, its perception and attractiveness (or conversely, unattractiveness) as a principle of composition in art and architecture. The symmetry of the world, confirmed both by science and everyday experience, can explain our preference for it. The mirror, given as an example of false visual symmetry, introduces the question of the scale. The author refers to Hermann Weyl who differentiates between various types of symmetry and associates symmetry with the category of beauty. Then the author goes on to discuss symmetry in architecture (e.g. Palladio’s buildings, mosaic floor patterns in churches with the intriguing Necker cube). Mosaics introduce the problem of optical illusions and the dependence of perception upon expectation – a relationship which can open the door to the world of illusion. That is why, argues the author, simple geometric symmetry is not attractive to art. Ambiguity is much more fruitful. The grid with its multiple symmetry axes, widely used in art, is anti-narrative, anti-developmental and anti-historical, and though it introduces perfect formal order, its monotony may be boring. The author gives examples of modern works departing from the principle of symmetry, like Asymetries by Zbigniew Dłubak, the museum in Bilbao (Frank Gehry), railway station in Kyoto (Hiroshi Hara) or art centre at Stockton-on-Tees (Richard Wilson). Finally, European attachment to symmetry is contrasted with the preference for asymmetry in Zen and in cultures under its influence, i.e. Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
Authors and Affiliations
Jerzy Olek
Keywords
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- DOI 10.5277/arc150407
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