PII: 0898-1221(89)90272-1 Computers Math. Appltc. Vol. 17, No. 4-6, pp. 1001-1008, 1989 0097-4943/89 $3.00+0.00 Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved Copyright © 1989 Pergamon Press plc I N F L U E N C E S O F T H E IDEAS O F JAY H A M B I D G E O N A R T A N D D E S I G N H. J. M c W m N N m Department of Design, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, U.S.A. AImtraet--The system of dynamic symmetry, as an approach to decision-making in design, by Jay Hambidge in the early 1920s had a strong influence on industrial design as well as upon the work of painters. This paper will review the design theories of Jay Hambidge and dynamic symmetry in terms of the use of proportions in design which are humanistically based upon the proportions of the human body. Recent research in the general area known as the golden section hypothesis will be reviewed as a means of justification not only for Hambidge's theory of proportions in design but as a validation for recent ideas in design, especially those of Robert Venturi. The paper will demonstrate the utility of studies from the behaviorial sciences for questions of design history as well as for present-day design theory and practice. The work of contemporary artists and designers will be shown to demonstrate that these ideas, the golden section and dynamic symmetry, while popular in the 1920s, have a renewed sense of relevance to current ideas and approaches in design theory. The influence upon industrial design, while it may not be clear as say the influence of dynamic symmetry or the work of Bellows or Rothko, is nevertheless also quite clear. This influence is most evident in the work of Jay Walter "league senior and in the well-known book Design This Day. The Hambidge design system of dynamic symmetry was used by designers at Tiffany's in the early 1920s and Jay Hambidge in his writings argued for an industrial design based upon the proportions of the golden section. The Hambidge system is employed today at the design department of Ohio State University and by Professor Lee Payne in the industrial design program at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. I N T R O D U C T I O N M y intention when I first began the literature search u p o n which this paper is based, was to prepare a single review o f the published material that would focus u p o n the uses o f the golden section in recent twentieth c e n t u r y art a n d design, as reflected in the recent art literature as presented by a c o m p u t e r d a t a file, A r t M o d e r n ( 1 9 7 2 - 1 9 8 3 ) . M y original intention was n o t to m o v e b e y o n d that specific d a t a base, since it represented the m o r e recent shows a n d articles relative to this topic. I have tried to keep with those basic intentions in the materials that I have developed for this paper. The volume o f published material caused me to decide to prepare two separate reviews o f this material. I have tried to g r o u p the materials for the first review in terms o f articles on the visual art, painting, sculpture, architecture that used the golden section a n d the principles o f d y n a m i c s y m m e t r y as a direct result o f the w o r k o f Jay H a m b i d g e [1]. The second review, the subject o f this presentation, focuses u p o n a wider collection o f materials, aesthetic concerns a n d a greater range o f media used; all however, are still within the general topic o f the use o f the golden section a n d d y n a m i c symmetry in works o f twentieth century art and design. T h a t the golden section has become an obsession for m a n y creative artists t h r o u g h o u t history is a m a t t e r o f record. This writer is no exception! There is something a b o u t these p r o p o r t i o n s which has fascinated m a n y o f us. This review will only cover some o f the m o r e recent experiments. We leave it to others to go back in time and into history. I f one begins, as I have n o w learned to do, to go a b o u t an art m u s e u m and look for the golden rectangle or any o f the five basic r o o t rectangles outlined by Jay H a m b i d g e (1867-1924) [2] in his system o f d y n a m i c symmetry; one will find to their surprise that they will come to see golden rectangles almost everywhere. I recently toured an exhibition o f nineteenth and early twentieth century small F r e n c h paintings at the N a t i o n a l Gallery o f Art, Washington, D.C. A l m o s t all o f the paintings show influences o f the use o f one o f the r o o t rectangles in their design and composition. One o f the laws o f pictorial c o m p o s i t i o n that the artist o f the nineteenth century learned, was to, within the plane or rectangle o f the picture surface itself, locate and find the square o f that area a n d its leftover segment which H a m b i d g e called " t h e recopical". In almost every w o r k 1001 1002 H . J . MCWmNNIE in that exhibition, which is really quite a good random cross section o f nineteenth century French painting, important compositional events occur at the critical point which defines the square [3]. P R I N C I P L E S O F D Y N A M I C S Y M M E T R Y Who was Jay Hambidge? He was an obscure American illustrator who lived in the first two decades o f the twentieth century and who formulated a theory o f symmetry that was based upon his own studies o f Greek vases and architecture. He conducted research on the measurement o f the human figure at the Harvard Medical School in 1918-1919 and many years before Le Corbusier wrote about his more famous Modular, Hambidge developed a clear theory about the relationships o f order and proportion in art and design with the human figure itself. What is the golden section or the divine proportion? Notions o f ratio and proportion are among the fundamentals o f mathematics and technology. The former is defined as the quantitative comparison between two things or aggregates belonging to the same kind o f species, and latter as the equality o f two ratios (A is to B and C is to D). O f considerable interest, for centuries, has been a fundamental ratio variously called the ratio o f Phidias, the golden section, the golden rectangle, the divine proportion, or simply • (phi) from the initial letter o f the name o f the Greek sculptor, Phidias. It is expressed mathematically as the ratio 1 : 1.618, derived from 1 + 5 (Jordan) [4]. In addition to its application in mathematics, ¢ also appears in the structure o f plants and shells and in the proportions o f the human body; in Egyptian, Greek, R o m a n and Gothic architecture; in the Renaissance masterpieces o f Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Hals, Turner and other artists; in the composition o f music, delightfully in the interval o f the minor sixth; and as recently as March 1984, at the University o f Maine, in choreography, in an exercise described as an experiment in spatial relationships. What has been described by Professor Jordan is a joint workshop that he did with Fran Merriet o f Deer Isle in which students acted out the basic root rectangles o f the Hambidge system as dance or body movement. The music measurements Of the rectangles o f the golden section were placed upon a dance studio floor and the workshop participants acted out these dimensions in the movements o f their bodies. Jordan argues that psychological studies attest to the aesthetic acceptance o f the divine proportion as a ratio based in nature. Thus, both technologists and humanists, it is contended, are ruled by a dynamic symmetry according to a pre-existing system o f ratio and proportion. The humanist readily acknowledges his debt to science, and the technologist concedes but for (such) harmony beautiful to contemplate, science would not be worth following [5]. The ubiquity o f ~, and its roles as a bridge linking technology, art and the humanities, is a part o f the theme o f this study on the influence o f Jay Hambidge. Many psychologists as well as artists have become involved in golden section research. D. D. Stuhl [6] has reported some recent developments in terms o f the development o f visual language. Research at the University o f Kansas, Department o f Design, is using classical symmetry theory to explore whether a formal framework can be established for the study o f the relationships present in visual and artistic forms. Such a framework could be extensively applied and might bring about the formation and conventionalization o f a visual language. It was always Jay's intentions to apply dynamic symmetry to a wide range o f artistic problems and while he used analysis o f classical art as examples to demonstrate his theories; he really was not that concerned with the analysis and study of Greek art. Many artists have conceptualized the golden section as a means to establish order. But the events o f the twentieth century artistic forms have taught us that order can come in many forms, assume many shapes and have different looks. Many artists have explored the golden section within a cubistic context. Part o f its versatility as a compositional as well as design construct, lies in the fact that the golden section and the other root rectangles in the Hambidge system, may be employed in a wide range o f art from realistic to abstract. One o f Jay Hambidge's associates, the painter George Bellows used the system o f dynamic symmetry to compose his action-filled paintings o f the fight scenes in New York City in the 1920s. The influence of Jay Hambidge on art and design 1003 Fig. 1. George Bellows, Dempsey and Firpo. Oil, 51 x 63~", 1924. (Collection: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Acq. No. 31.95.) One of the late paintings of Bellows based upon the Hambidge system of dynamic symmetry. Almost every line and slope in the composition falls at a precise joint in a Hambidge root five rectangle. This p a i n t i n g (Fig. 1) is o n l y o n e o f m a n y e x a m p l e s which used the s y s t e m to create d r a m a t i c tensions o f m o v e m e n t in the c o m p o s i t i o n . T H E G O L D E N S E C T I O N A N D H U M A N M O V E M E N T I a m n o t a t all sure the p r o p e r t i e s o f the s q u a r e h a v e been well-understood. T h e s q u a r e a n d n o t the rectangle is the basic f o r m a l p r o p e r t y o f m u c h o f c o n t e m p o r a r y art. M o s t p a i n t e r s use rectangles as their p i c t u r e surfaces, since the s q u a r e is felt t o b e so static a shape; b u t it is still the basis o f c o m p o s i t i o n a l f o r m a t s a n d forces even within the t r a d i t i o n a l rectangles u p o n which m o s t o f us paint. S o m e o f the m o r e interesting a n d recent w o r k in the use o f the golden section h a s been achieved in m u l t i - m e d i a p r e s e n t a t i o n s , in d a n c e a n d in h u m a n m o v e m e n t works. M a s s i n e in a n interview s p e a k s o f his 1917 w o r k p a r a d e [7]. T h a t w o r k i n t r o d u c e d c u b i s m into the theatre. C u b i s m f o r M a s s i n e held the key to the m a n i p u l a t i o n o f g r o u p s o f dancers. H e o r c h e s t r a t e d t h e m as t h o u g h their m o v e m e n t s were h a r m o n i e s , their postures, chords. H e built a s y m m e t r y o n c o u n t e r p o i n t a n d w a s a l w a y s c o m p o s i n g in the third dimension. Classic f o r m s h a v e their o w n basic v o c a b u l a r y a n d s y m m e t r y a n d structure, as in cubism. T h e use o f the golden section u n d e r g i r d e d their effects. I t h a s b e e n very interesting f o r m e t o n o t e t h a t o n e d o e s n o t find t o o m u c h discussion o f the golden section in the literature in reference t o sculpture o r o t h e r t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l a r t f o r m s b u t o n e d o e s find it as a vital c o n c e p t in m o v e m e n t a n d dance. T h i s is certainly a n a r e a f o r which o n e c o u l d d o a c o n s i d e r a b l e a m o u n t o f a d d i t i o n a l research. W h y has the golden section a n d d y n a m i c s y m m e t r y been so limited t o w o r k o f t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l art? A n a c c o u n t o f the p e r f o r m a n c e entitled 1004 H . J . McWrtlNNm "787" staged by students of the advanced design course at the Department o f Art, California State University at Humbold, is important to consider [8]. In this respect, the primary aim o f the performance was to produce multi-media presentations through which the golden section might be experienced directly. It was conceived in terms of a ritual of about 16 rain in a darkened room. This performance started slowly and simply and moving with increasing speed and complexity to a climax. In this paper, the golden section is first analyzed for its mathematical values. The planning of the project and the performance o f the event are described in this article in some detail, From the discussion it was not possible to establish the extent of the viewers' grasp o f the aesthetic or other significance o f the golden section as a result o f the performance. But the conception of using the section as a basis for stimulation of the imagination was very useful. One only wished that there was a follow-up to this study and some way to demonstrate that this method was, in fact, a useful learning experience within the design education. Much additional research could be conducted which explores the golden section in terms of human movement relationship. I have already noted in this paper that more recently Fran Merritt of Deer Isle, Me, in the spring of 1984 conducted some workshops in dynamic symmetry in which he had his students act out in human movement, the proportions o f the various root rectangles including the golden section. His was an attempt for them to understand the basic proportions used in dynamic symmetry and to practice these through the use o f kinesthetic cues as well as through purely visual exercises [9]. T H E M O D U L A R One cannot discuss the golden section in twentieth century art without considering the work of the French artist and architect, Le Corbusier. A recent study of Le Corbusier's method o f developing a pictorial idea through several versions with particular reference to the tapestry La Femme et Le Moneau. This work is one of a series produced in the period 1946-1964. Its geometrical framework is based on the square and golden section and derived from the juxtaposition of found objects. This study showed how pictorial motifs in the tapestry can be traced back to his earliest work as a painter when he still used his family name, Jeanneret. At that time he was working in the purist style with particular reference to his development of an interlocked glazes motif. His use of a limited number of pictorial words is shown to have been carried through to his architectural designs. It is, of course, Le Corbusier's development of his Modular, the use of the golden section as a comprehensive system of proportions entered into the history of twentieth century architecture [10]. Unfortunately for Jay Hambidge, when one discusses dynamic symmetry in art today, it is Le Corbusier and not Jay's own efforts that are remembered and noted. We have seen, I hope in this short review, that the golden section is a far more universal idea and it cannot really be ascribed to one's discovery. Many have been refreshed and nourished by these conceptions in their own creative efforts, not only in our century but throughout art history as well. To put is another way, the golden section becomes the image itself and is used for the symbolic power it seems to possess regardless of any subject matter. I hope in these reviews of the work of other artists who have used dynamic symmetry in their works, to show that it can be used within the full range of artistic style, from the representative to the abstract. (In July 1985 the Hambidge Center hosted a symposium at Rabun Gap, Ga, on dynamic symmetry, the golden section and the work of Jay Hambidge.) The modern American artist Randall Craig also uses the principles of symmetry in the composition of the proportions o f his sculptures. Even the formulas themselves are alluded to in the works as metaphors of his system o f design. It is almost impossible to consider the golden section without getting into questions of design as a basic visual language. The utility of the golden section has been demonstrated as a powerful candidate for the basic structure of visual language. If we look at St Uhr's article, he takes up the theme of William Huff's study An Argument for Basic Design [11]. In that book, the activity of planning is an activity of structuring, and that consequently the study of structure is in fact a definition of basic design. This critic aims to bring H u f f s study up to date with the addition of new items and terms within the definition of design as it is understood today. By selecting individual The influence of Jay Hambidge on art and design 1005 Fig. 2. Walter Burt Adams, Evanston Today. Oil, 20 x 24", 1970. (Collection: Joseph Levy Jr, Chicago, Ill. Photo: Willard Nickerson, Evanston, I11.) Walter Butt Adams published a book on dynamic symmetry and has made use of these methods for many years in his own work. (Reproduced by permission of the artist.) t e r m s such as perspective, s y m m e t r y a n d the golden section; he goes o n to a n a l y z e w h a t t e r m s signify in c u r r e n t design m e t h o d o l o g y a n d praxis with reference to a n u m b e r o f distinct fields o f art. J a y H a m b i d g e b a c k in 1922 in a lecture a t the A r t I n s t i t u t e o f C h i g a g o , II1., p o s t u l a t e d that, in fact, his s y s t e m o f d y n a m i c s y m m e t r y could, in fact, serve as a basic s t r u c t u r e f o r m u c h w o r k in design [12]. W e have, I feel, a l m o s t c o m e full circle in o u r v o y a g e o f discovery o f visual s t r u c t u r e a n d artistic language. D i d it n o t all begin so f a r as W e s t e r n a r t is c o n c e r n e d with the ancient G r e e k s ? L e e Payne o f the I n d u s t r i a l Design D e p a r t m e n t , G e o r g i a T e c h in A t l a n t a , recently c o m p l e t e d a M a s t e r ' s Thesis o n the general subjects o f the implications o f J a y H a m b i d g e , d y n a m i c s y m m e t r y a n d golden section u p o n A m e r i c a n industrial design including 25 years o f his o w n w o r k . P a y n e ' s research focused u p o n the n a t u r e o f a n d i m p o r t a n c e o f the h u m a n f r a m e o f reference in m a t t e r s 1006 H . J . McWHINNt~ o f design and proportion [13]. Many o f his insights were based upon the work o f a Russian, Boursalaviteh, whose b o o k The Golden Number (1958) opened up important insights from the general field o f vision and perceptual research [14]. It may be that the field o f vision itself may be the vital factor, the missing link. He found that: (a) the human visual limit comes to 1.5661 (which is close to the golden rectangle); (b) the field o f color vision comes to 1.61018 (golden mean) (c) proportion o f human binocular vision (golden mean). Stone and Collins showed that in general the human field o f binocular vision is 1.665 and that our general field o f vision is delimited by the golden section. Payne, as a part o f his research, surveyed 60 industrial design firms to assess any possible influences from golden section research [13]. Out o f the 60 questionnaires, 18 responded and indicated in their forms they could document no such influence. Only four design educators responded positively in Payne's study. These were from: Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Syracuse University, N.Y. Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. Western Washington State College, Bellingham, Wash. Payne also noted and documented some golden section influences upon: Archibald Weldon whose 1938 design for Revere Ware is in perfect proportion to the golden section. DNA Standards for Paper and Type Design of Black & Decker Products. Fig. 3. Dorothea Rockburne, Narcissus. Three panels, oil on gessoed linen, 97 x 123 x ~ " , 1984. (Gallery: Xavier Fourcade, Inc., New York. Photo: J o h n Ferrari.) Rockburne uses the motifs of the methods of dynamic symmetry directly as construction guidlines in her work. (Reproduced by permission of the Fourcade Gallery, New York.) The influence of Jay Hambidge on art and design 1007 Fig. 4. Randall J. Craig, Dynamic Circle: Resin and fiberglass, 42" dia x 1½", 1984. (Collection of artist.) Randall Craig uses the construction lines of dynamic symmetry as background. In this work, the basic structure can be seen applied to a circle as well as to a square. (Reproduced by permission of the artist.) P a y n e o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e m o d e r n a n t h r o p r o m e t r i c c h a r t s t h a t i n d u s t r i a l d e s i g n e r s n o w e m p l o y u s e m o r e r e c e n t a n d s c i e n t i f i c m e t h o d s in t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f p r o p o r t i o n s a n d y e t m o s t o f t h o s e m e a s u r e m e n t s c o m e c l o s e t o t h e g o l d e n m e a n . C O N C L U S I O N S S o m e a r t i s t s s u c h a s D o r o t h e a R o c k b u r n e u s e t h e s t r u c t u r a l p r o p o r t i o n s o f d y n a m i c s y m m e t r y a s t h e s u b j e c t s o f t h e i r p a i n t i n g s ( F i g s 3 a n d 4). T h e u s e o f a s y s t e m o f s y m m e t r y s e e m s t o p r o v i d e i n t h e w o r k o f a r t a n e s s e n t i a l o r d e r w h i c h is n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e h u m a n a p p r e c i a t i o n a n d e x p r e s s i o n . I t p r o v i d e s t h e a r t i s t w i t h a s t r u c t u r e o f r e a l i t y o r w i t h a m o d e l o f t h e w o r l d t h a t c a n b e t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o a p e r s o n a l a r t i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n a n d y e t c a n a l s o c o m m u n i c a t e a g e n e r a l a n d m o r e u n i v e r s a l e x p r e s s i o n . R E F E R E N C E S 1. H. J. McWhinnie, Review of research in the golden section. Leonardo 19(I) (1986). 2. J. Hambidge, Principles of Dynamic Symmetry. Dover, New York (Reprint 1968). 3. E. Walter, Jay Hambidge and the development of the theory of dynamic symmetry. Unpublished Ph.D. Study, Univ. of Georgia, Athens (1976). 4. R. Jordan, Personal communication (1984). 5. R. Jordan, Unpublished paper (1984). 6. D. D. Stuhl, A language of form. Iris. Lang. 13(4), 379-409 (1979). 7. D. Sylvester, Massine in conversation. Studio Int. 198(968), 52-54 (1974). 8. J. B. Haviii, The multi-media performance 987 based on the golden ratio. Leonardo 9(2), 130-132 (1976). 9. F. Merrin, Personal communication (Deer Isle, Me) (1984-1985). 10. Le Corbusier, The Modular. Paris (1947). 1008 H . J . McWHINNIE 11. W. Huff, An Argument for Basic Design. Hastings House, New York (1965). 12. J. Hambidge, Unpublished notes on his 1921 Chicago lecture among the Hambidge Papers at the Archives for American Art. 13. L. Payne, Dynamic symmetry and industrial design. Unpublished M F A thesis, Univ. of Georgia, Athens (1983). 14. Boursalavitch, The Golden Number (1958).