“Nuance” is defined by Collins thusly, “A nuance is a small difference in sound, feeling, appearance, or meaning.” MacMillian adds that the difference however slight is one of importance. Significantly, Definition .Org adds “complexity” and “ambiguity” to the synonyms of “Nuance.”
More specifically, “complexity” refers to an object made up of parts. When an objet or event can be broken up into parts it is complex. “Ambiguity” indicates that there is an element of uncertainty about some important aspect of the object’s identity.
I understand “art” to refer to certain objects or events toward which our culture accepts a reflective and open response with our attention. “Nuance” will show up in differently in the various disciplines: dance, theater, literature, music and so forth. I hope to suggest a way these notions might apply to visual art, specifically painting.
No design rule is inviolate. Nevertheless, I will assume that some deference is paid to two guiding principles: repetition with variation and unequal balance. (Edgar Whitney).
The elements of a painting, whether specific colors, shapes, edges, etc., are best repeated within the the image. Yet the repeated elements should usually be varied in one way or another. Shapes can become smaller as they recede. Colors can become darker and reflect surrounding hues as they move into shadow. Of course not every element needs to be varied. The colors in Warhol’s silkscreens are sometimes varied and sometimes not.
The second guiding principle tells us that balance should be unequal. Neither the horizon, nor the subject matter should be centered on the page. The colors should either be dominantly warm or dominantly cool rather than equally warm and cool. Shapes might be prickly or smooth, but one type should dominate. Different artists, different works of art and even different elements may require the balance to be set closer or further from equality.
Within the dynamics of repetition, balance and variation, there is considerable change occurring both within and between passages. Returning to the point of this article, let me use the example of the transition of water reflecting the blue sky into water reflecting golden plants along the shoreline.
The transition between blue and gold might be slight, obvious, sharp-edged, blended or otherwise. If the transition moves in slight, hard to detect, ways it is nuanced. If there is a clear demarkation it is obvious rather than nuanced. If the water is rippling, the reflections might alternate between blue and golden and in an ambiguous way.
“Nuance,” then is one way to handle the constant change and variation within a painting or, for that matter, any artistic discipline. Nuance adds ambiguity and depth to a painting, but like any other technique it will usually require balance. A painting that seems very heavily nuanced without much contrasting hard edges or obviousness in found in Monet’s sunrise series. There is some concreteness in the rising sun and boater/boat, but to my taste, I hunger for a bit more structure. On the other end of the spectrum Mondrian tends to paint primarily structure. In this Composition in Red and Blue the shapes, colors, lines are primarily definite, yet there is some nuance in the slight differences in the width of lines or fields of white and color.
“The Valley of the Babbling Waters” by Thomas Moran is a painting that demonstrates skillful use of nuance in the color, shape and intensity of receding rock mounds. Yet the nuance is counter-balanced by definitive shapes in the foreground which provide a depth absent in both the Monet or Mondrian.
Ultimately, nuance is a technique which may feature dominantly or only slightly is a work of art, but it is an important artistic technique with which an artist should be competent. While I believe it can be overdone, nuance is essential for creating the mysterious, the ambiguous and the seamless connections within the world we live.
Mike Mallory
2/14/22
