Background
Jay Hambidge was born on January 13, 1867, in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, and was christened Edward John. His parents, George Fowler and Christina Shields Hambridge, had nine children of whom Jay was the eldest.
(Is design intuitive or is it consciously and methodically...)
Is design intuitive or is it consciously and methodically worked out? Are there basic rules governing design that, when learned, will facilitate the creative process? These questions have been asked by artists, art historians, and art critics throughout the ages. Convinced that design was not purely instinctive, Jay Hambidge (1867–1924) spent much of his life searching for the technical bases of design. He found his answer in dynamic symmetry, one of the most provocative and stimulating theories in art history. Hambidge's study of Greek art convinced him that the secret of the beauty of Greek design was in the conscious use of dynamic symmetry — the law of natural design based upon the symmetry of growth in man and in plants. But Hambidge, who was not only a theoretician but also a practicing artist, did much more than analyze classical art and its principles of design: he worked out a series of root rectangles that the artist, using the simple mathematics supplied in this book, can easily follow and apply in his own work. Originally published as a series of lessons in Hambidge's magazine, The Diagonal, this engrossing book explains all the basic principles of dynamic symmetry. Part I sets forth the fundamental rectangles with their simple divisions based on the proportioning law found in nature; Part II explains compound rectangles, many of which were taken from or suggested by analysis of objects of Greek art. Whether read for its historical importance in art theory, for its illuminating insights into Greek art, or for its practical value to today's artists and commercial designers, The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry has much to offer anyone who is interested in the principle of design.
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Dynamic-Symmetry-Dover-Instruction-ebook/dp/B00A73J16O?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00A73J16O
(The Diagonal An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Devoted to t...)
The Diagonal An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Explanation of the Rediscovered Principles of Greek Design, and their Appearance in Nature and their Application to the Needs of Modern Art. 344 Pages.
https://www.amazon.com/Diagonal-Illustrated-Explanation-Rediscovered-Application-ebook/dp/B07GBGK8KK?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07GBGK8KK
Jay Hambidge was born on January 13, 1867, in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, and was christened Edward John. His parents, George Fowler and Christina Shields Hambridge, had nine children of whom Jay was the eldest.
Jay's early education was limited to the public schools of Simcoe and at fifteen he ran away. Later he studied nights at the Art Students’ League.
A fearless adventurer, Hambidge's first objective was the West. At Council Bluffs, Iowa, he found employment as a surveyor’s helper and in 1885 started as printer’s devil in the offices of the Kansas City Star. After ten years in Kansas, having become a leading reporter, he joined the forces of the New York Herald. He had become interested in drawing as an added equipment to reportorial efficiency. He then met Walter Appleton Clark, the illustrator, with whom he later shared his studio, and, as was his habit, a hard-earned knowledge. Though he was never deeply interested in illustration, he developed a capable and intelligent aptitude and some of his works found their way to the exhibitions of the time. His more absorbing passion, then awakening, was his ambition to discover the technical bases of design.
In 1900 Hambidge succeeded in enlisting the sympathetic interest of Richard Watson Gilder, editor of the Century, who sent him to Girgenti to make drawings of the Greek remains. After his return, on November 2, 1902, he read a paper, “The Natural Basis of Form in Greek Art, ” which advanced his theory of Greek design. In it he set forth the belief that in the symmetrical forms of nature there is a certain “principle of proportion” which is constant and may be expressed mathematically; that this same “principle of proportion” occurs in Greek art; and that the Greeks had this knowledge and used it. Thus he attributed their sense of form to an applied mathematical theory rather than a mere instinct for design. Though the Parthenon measurements of Sir Francis Cranmer Penrose, then head of the Greek department of the British Museum, were at the time regarded as authoritative, Penrose was impressed by Hambidge’s theories and urged him to develop them. With such indorsement, Hambidge became completely absorbed in his quest for a verification of his hypothesis.
After years of study, years also of struggle, Hambidge was invited to present his findings to the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies at their August meeting in 1914. When this major recognition was prevented by the World War, his strong spirit temporarily broke under the disappointment. The devotion and encouragement of George Whitde, however, gradually overcame his discouragement and in 1916 he started a course of lectures in Whittle’s small quarters, continuing them later in the studio of Edward B. Edwards, the designer. The attendance and interest of Robert Henri and George W. Bellows did much to enlist that of other painters. Gradually, too, Hambidge published the results of his work. Inevitably opposition developed, but his supporters stood by him. Denman W. Ross, of Harvard, and William Sergeant Kendall, of Yale, also supported his theory. Through help from the Trowbridge fund, secured by Kendall, Hambidge was enabled to go again to Athens, and by the generous assistance of L. D. Caskey, the American archeologist, he was further enabled to make his own measurements of the Parthenon and other Greek temples. These final researches resulted in the publication of Dynamic Symmetry in Composition (1923) and The Parthenon and Other Greek Temples: Their Dynamic Symmetry (1924). Though the widespread and controversial interest of 1922-1923 was stimulating, the hardships attending a winter in Greece coupled with a lifelong struggle against a misapprehending opposition had taken severe toll. On January 20, 1924, while lecturing, Hambidge suffered a stroke and died a few hours after. His last words were an apology to his listeners for interrupting their evening.
(Is design intuitive or is it consciously and methodically...)
(The Diagonal An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Devoted to t...)
In the development of his theory Hambidge established a clear-cut differentiation between what he termed “dynamic” and “static” symmetry. Dynamic symmetry he believed to be a method of obtaining regularity, balance, and proportion in design by diagonals and reciprocals to rectangular areas instead of by the plane figures of geometry, or by measurements of length units - such as the foot and meter - which have been used for the purpose for many centuries. In nature and in Greek art, however, this type of mensuration is unsatisfactory, since both show that “the measurableness of symmetry is that of area and not line. ” Thus he believed that the classic artists were careful to fix the limits or form of their compositions with exactness, but that within these bounds they worked freely. In this way they were able to carry their creations to any desired perfection of finish without becoming hard or mechanical. Moderns have proceeded in a reverse manner, with a loose regard for limits, which, in part, explains the difference between modern and classic Greek design. When classic Greek design was first measured in modern times it was found that ends and sides of design areas could not be divided into one another without an unending fraction appearing as the result. Investigation has shown that these design areas cannot be reduced to the regular figures of geometry, a fact which suggests that a more subtle system for measurement for design purposes must have been used.
Quotations: “Static symmetry, as used by the Copts, Byzantines, Saracens, Mohammedans, and the Gothic and Renaissance designers, was based upon the pattern properties of the regular two-dimensional figure such as the square and the equilateral triangle. ”
Quotes from others about the person
Bellows: “If a thing is made easier by technical understanding, then by so much is it true that having the particular phase made easier, your strength is conserved for those things which yet remain troublesome. ”
On January 1, 1889, Hambidge was married to Cordelia Selina De Lorme, of Council Bluffs.