Movement is an ongoing theme in art (29.0, 29.1, 29.2, 29.3). The human figure is a central subject in all art too (see the upcoming 33.0). It makes sense that the body in motion has been a focus from the beginning(35.2).
Negative space is the empty space around and between the subject of an image. It can be used to create a sense of depth, focus attention on the subject, or add hidden shapes and figures. The famous optical illusion Rubin’s Vase,* is a good illustration. Is it a vase? Or is it two faces? Henri Matisse said: “I don’t paint things. I only paint the difference between things.” When you’re trying to judge movement and the human figure, look at the subject and the negative space too. That will help you evaluate how graceful the proportions and poses might be.
Xie He (fl. 6th c.), compiled the earliest surviving work of Chinese art theory, the
Guhuapinlu (Classified Record of Painters of Former Times). He gave us the phrase: qiyun shengdong, usually translated as “spirit resonance, life-motion”. (氣韻生動)
But the words can be read with alternate meanings too:
Qi, 氣: energy, breath, the qi of qigong.
Yun: 韻: rhyme, vowel, appeal, charm, pleasant sound.
Sheng: 生: birth, life; grow.
Dong: 動: to move, to set in motion, displace, touch, make use of, stir (emotions).
Art’s energy should resonate with the universal energy. This idea links art to Dao and the spiritual. They also hint at the personal: our energy should accord with the movement of life.
Might it be that every work of art is a record of movement? Whether brushstrokes on an oil painting or chisel on marble, an artist makes many movements to create their work.
Dao is movement. All art is movement. If you look at Matisse’s Dance (29.0), moving with Dao is joy.
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Dance (I). Henri Matisse. Paris, Boulevard des Invalides, early 1909. Oil on canvas. 8′ 6 1/2″ x 12′ 9 1/2″ (259.7 x 390.1 cm). MoMA.
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79124
Pair of Grooms. Tang Dynasty, 618–907
Earthenware, slip, pigment. The Brooklyn Museum
Shiva as Lord of Dance (Shiva Nataraja). Chola period. late 12th–early 13th century. India, Tamil Nadu. Copper alloy. H. 25 3/4 in. (65.4); W. 22 in. (55.9 cm); D. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm). TheMet.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39329
Dancing Ganesha. Kalacuri dynasty. ca. 10th century. India, Madhya Pradesh. Red sandstone. H. 36 in. (91.4 cm); W. 20 in. (50.8 cm). TheMet.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/74100
Yvonne Rainer. Trio A. 1978. Medium. 16mm film transferred to standard-definition video (black and white, silent).10:21 min. Cameraman, Robert Alexander. Producer, Sally Banes. Committee on Media and Performance Art Funds. MoMA.
https://www.moma.org/calendar/performance/867
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_vase