Negative Spaces: What defines you?
One of the key concepts we learn in art class is the concept of positive and negative space. It's not positive and negative in the sense of one being good and the other being bad. Positive space is the subject of focus- be it a flower or a face or a bowl of fruit. Negative space is the surrounding context that the subject is in. Negative space is just as important to the art piece as a whole as the positive space. Negative space hems in the positive space, gives perspective and focus to the subject, and creates a context for conveying mood and meaning to the piece as a whole. negative space can be used to harmonize with the expressed mood of the subject or work as an ironic contrast to convey a message. Negative space is not silent or secondary- it communicates volumes.
Recently I was thinking on this concept when it came to me that people need positive and negative space to help define them as persons distinct from each other and our surrounding environments. You might say one way people express their negative space is through their values. A generic example might be that people who value freedom of speech would have a negative space that rejects censorship. Another example would be that people who are monotheistic in their religious views would have a negative space in their values for the rejection of the existence of multiple gods. Our negative spaces give definition to our positive spaces in our lives. There is a contrast between us and our surroundings- a border that traces around our person-hood and identity.
Regarding our distinguishing negative space, I would like to point out that it should not override our ability to interact with and get along with other people- even people whose values might be diametrically opposed. On my Facebook, I befriend a whole variety of people who differ greatly with me on different points. I'm Reformed in my understanding of Scripture, but I don't cut people off at the knees if they are Catholic or Methodist. I'm capitalist in my approach to economics, but while I may enthusiastically debate my peers who prefer a socialist or mixed economy, I don't despise them as persons or think they're in any way lesser than myself. I'm unashamedly conservative in my political leanings- I hold to a historical view of the Constitution, but I can appreciate and acknowledge people who raise concerns about the issues involved in constitutional republic governments. So contrast in regards to our distinguishing negative space does not necessitate conflict.
I would go even further to say that recognizing and understanding our negative space is essential, not only to shaping our lives and influence upon others, but for resolving conflicts and truly improving society. Just like every GPS starts with the input of the data for where you are before calculating the path to where you want to be, understanding ourselves helps us to search out our status quo so we can begin to move toward improvement. The whole point of our bicameral Congress is for the exposure of weak negative spaces in legislation or other matters of interest, such as the budget, and correct them while upholding the voice of the people. We all witnessed the bad results of an unmixed Congress and White House from 2008- 2010, the elections last November testify to that fact. Where there is a lack of discussion on the negative spaces, a lack of willingness to expose and examine, to sharpen contrast and improve the whole, there will be misdirected conflict and confusion and chaos.
We saw this after the Tucson Massacre. Rather than stepping back and taking in the full picture of Loughner's profile, understanding his positive and negative spaces in his worldview, the media and the government leapt to false conclusions and began blaming innocent, uninvolved people. Now, like or dislike Mark Levin or Sarah Palin, honestly, I could care less what your opinion of them is, a case CANNOT be made against them or any other conservative pundit for involvement or influence upon Loughner for his despicable crime. We now know that in fact Loughner was toward the radical left in his leanings, had a personal vendetta against Gabriel for failure to answer his question properly from an earlier confrontation, and probably has mental health problems. Had the media and the government focused on simply condemning Loughner's actions and presented the facts and let the investigative teams do their job, we could have avoided nearly two months of unnecessary incivility. But leave it to politicians and the press to make a mountain out of a molehill.
As a Christian, God's Word and the Holy Spirit primarily, and Church history secondarily, forms the negative space upon which I find context and meaning in my life. The goal for me, as it should be for all Christians, is to align my mind, heart and will with the ideal outline God desires for me. This negative space is elastic- it doesn't constrict our natural God-given personality (ie; extroverted versus introverted) or talents and abilities, but merely contextualizes and conforms them to His superior design. As fallen humanity, redeemed people have a lot of stretching and restructuring to do in order to mature and be useful in His Kingdom. Sometimes that's painful, but it's always worthwhile, and therefore it's a good thing to assess our negative space to see how it lines up with Jesus. If our negative space ends up looking something like this, then we're good to go.
Recently I was thinking on this concept when it came to me that people need positive and negative space to help define them as persons distinct from each other and our surrounding environments. You might say one way people express their negative space is through their values. A generic example might be that people who value freedom of speech would have a negative space that rejects censorship. Another example would be that people who are monotheistic in their religious views would have a negative space in their values for the rejection of the existence of multiple gods. Our negative spaces give definition to our positive spaces in our lives. There is a contrast between us and our surroundings- a border that traces around our person-hood and identity.
Regarding our distinguishing negative space, I would like to point out that it should not override our ability to interact with and get along with other people- even people whose values might be diametrically opposed. On my Facebook, I befriend a whole variety of people who differ greatly with me on different points. I'm Reformed in my understanding of Scripture, but I don't cut people off at the knees if they are Catholic or Methodist. I'm capitalist in my approach to economics, but while I may enthusiastically debate my peers who prefer a socialist or mixed economy, I don't despise them as persons or think they're in any way lesser than myself. I'm unashamedly conservative in my political leanings- I hold to a historical view of the Constitution, but I can appreciate and acknowledge people who raise concerns about the issues involved in constitutional republic governments. So contrast in regards to our distinguishing negative space does not necessitate conflict.
I would go even further to say that recognizing and understanding our negative space is essential, not only to shaping our lives and influence upon others, but for resolving conflicts and truly improving society. Just like every GPS starts with the input of the data for where you are before calculating the path to where you want to be, understanding ourselves helps us to search out our status quo so we can begin to move toward improvement. The whole point of our bicameral Congress is for the exposure of weak negative spaces in legislation or other matters of interest, such as the budget, and correct them while upholding the voice of the people. We all witnessed the bad results of an unmixed Congress and White House from 2008- 2010, the elections last November testify to that fact. Where there is a lack of discussion on the negative spaces, a lack of willingness to expose and examine, to sharpen contrast and improve the whole, there will be misdirected conflict and confusion and chaos.
We saw this after the Tucson Massacre. Rather than stepping back and taking in the full picture of Loughner's profile, understanding his positive and negative spaces in his worldview, the media and the government leapt to false conclusions and began blaming innocent, uninvolved people. Now, like or dislike Mark Levin or Sarah Palin, honestly, I could care less what your opinion of them is, a case CANNOT be made against them or any other conservative pundit for involvement or influence upon Loughner for his despicable crime. We now know that in fact Loughner was toward the radical left in his leanings, had a personal vendetta against Gabriel for failure to answer his question properly from an earlier confrontation, and probably has mental health problems. Had the media and the government focused on simply condemning Loughner's actions and presented the facts and let the investigative teams do their job, we could have avoided nearly two months of unnecessary incivility. But leave it to politicians and the press to make a mountain out of a molehill.
As a Christian, God's Word and the Holy Spirit primarily, and Church history secondarily, forms the negative space upon which I find context and meaning in my life. The goal for me, as it should be for all Christians, is to align my mind, heart and will with the ideal outline God desires for me. This negative space is elastic- it doesn't constrict our natural God-given personality (ie; extroverted versus introverted) or talents and abilities, but merely contextualizes and conforms them to His superior design. As fallen humanity, redeemed people have a lot of stretching and restructuring to do in order to mature and be useful in His Kingdom. Sometimes that's painful, but it's always worthwhile, and therefore it's a good thing to assess our negative space to see how it lines up with Jesus. If our negative space ends up looking something like this, then we're good to go.