The Spaces Between Branches

7 days ago

2 min read

Our Archive identifies this small lidded object as an incense container by Saeki Morimi. In the first photograph, pale tree-like shapes cross a rounded square lid. Their branches become closely gathered towards the upper part of the image, against green and grey areas. The quieter pale area below gives the trunks a different background.

Archive photograph of a rounded square lidded container with pale tree-like branches against green and grey areas. — Archive photograph: the closed container with pale trunks and overlapping branches across its lid.

1. Follow one branch

Begin with a broad pale trunk near the front. Let your eye travel upwards as it divides into finer lines. Can you follow it to the top, or does it become difficult to separate from its neighbours? Choose another trunk and try again. The paths may lead your attention in different directions, even within this small part of the photograph.

2. Look between the lines

Now give the darker gaps a turn. Find a space framed by two pale branches and compare it with a larger gap nearer a trunk. Which shape is easiest to describe? Then look at the lower pale area, where the lines are farther apart. Moving between the pattern and its background can change which part feels busiest.

3. Compare closed and open

Archive photograph showing the patterned lid on the left and the open container body with a rounded-square cavity on the right. — Archive photograph: patterned lid at left, open body and rounded-square cavity at right.

The second photograph places the patterned lid on the left and the open body on the right. Notice the rounded-square cavity and the border around it. Compare this inner opening with the rounded outer corners visible in the first view. The pattern invites one kind of attention; the open form introduces another. Which view helps you notice the outline more clearly?

Return to the closed view and take in the whole object. Follow its top edge, its sides and the line where lid and body meet. Has the shape become easier to see after looking at the branches and the open space separately? Let one of those details invite your next look.