TACTILE FOCUS

The Reciprocality of Painting & Architecture

Abstract

This paper will discuss an interdisciplinary studio elective that uses the idiom of abstract painting as an analog for analyzing, distilling, and manipulating three-dimensional space. The confines of a painting prove to be fertile ground for structuring and composing space, or the illusion thereof.  Students are able to grapple with the optical push and pull of color, value, and figure/ground relationships in a manner congruent to formal and spatial design. The tactile pleasure of working with paint also offers architecture students a focused reprieve from digital media and indispensable practice with gravity and patience