Week 11 - Episode 57 - Dots in art

The dot, in its humble simplicity, has proven to be extremely popular and useful in fine art.

Divisionism and pointilism used the juxtaposition of dots in different colours to create new colour experiences on the canvas.

Op-art gave us psychedelic dot experiences.

Roy Lichtenstein drew us into the dotted world of CMYK printing.

Damien Hirst created thousands of dot paintings, continuing the pointilist’s colour experiments, but increasing the distance and lining them up in orderly grids.

Aboriginal Art uses dots to tell (and hide) stories and places - to map and to veil at the same time.

Dot paintings can be flowing, organic, inviting.

They can become vibrant seas of colour.

Or harsh geometric hierarchies.

You can tell the type of dot-art you’re looking at by analysing the dots.

Are they large? Small? Medium?

How are they organised? In a grid? Free-form? Something in between?

What is the distance between them? Do they almost overlap, or is there an empty space between them?

And how precise are they? Printerly? Or painterly?

Today, become a dot-art expert by zooming in on the dots.

Dive into online art collections and study the use of dots in dot-art and get your dot-diploma. You’ll be able to tell a period, painter or style from the dots in no-time!

Capture screenshots of your favourite dot-art and share them using the hashtag #kramerseye on Twitter or Instagram.

Listen to today’s podcast.

Week 11 - Episode 56 - On the dot

Dots, in the guise of periods or full stops, are essential to writing.

Without them our sentences would run on and on without pause - an infinite sea of words.

The ancient Greeks understood the importance of demarcation: they used dots at varying heights in their writing to signal different stops or pauses.

But dots are multifunctional: not only can they tell us when to take a breath, or stop - they can also slow us down when they show up in threes.

This ‘ellipsis’, three dots in a row, can denote many things: an omission, pause for thought, or even sarcasm.

In addition to full stops and ellipses dots show up in important moments in our lives.

We sign on the dotted line - for our new job, will or mortgage.

We dot our i’s.

We connect the dots.

And, when we plan well, we might even arrive on the dot.

The quality of prints is measured in dots per inch, so, chances are, you are looking at millions of dots every day - without even being aware of it.

Dot matrix alphabet

Today, try to spot those dots. In typography, in graphic design: pause to notice all those dots on posters and paper.

Spot them, capture them and share them on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #kramerseye.

Listen to today’s podcast

Week 11 - Episode 55 - Thalers and Tiny Bikinis

“She was afraid to come out of the locker
she was as nervous as she could be
she was afraid to come out of the locker
she was afraid that somebody would see

Two three four
tell the people what she woreIt was an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
that she wore for the first time today
an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
so in the locker she wanted to stay”

— From the 1960 song 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini' - Bobby Darin

Polkadot patterns are rather paradoxical.

They can be sweet, innocent, child-like - as evidenced on tablecloths and patterned tiny tea sets. And, of course, Minnie Mouse.

They can be hypnotising, confusing, dazzling - in psychedelic art for example.

They can be playfully classic, as found on stylish Dior Dresses.

And they can be utterly feminine and seductive. In 1951, Marilyn Monroe sported a (to our current eyes rather over-sized) red polkadot bikini in a very sexy photoshoot. The 60s produced, in addition to more polkadot-patterned fabrics, the above song about a rather revealing polkadot bikini.

But the origin of some of the polkadots pattern is decidedly unsexy. The pattern with larger polkadots used to be named after German coins, called Thaler.

MARIA THERESIA Kronenthaler obverse, Burgundian cross, 4 crowns in angles, 1770, Craig Low Countries # 14, Jacques Verlagen

Maybe one of the reasons we love polkadots so much is not because they are ‘cute’, but because they remind us of something essential: money.

And there might be yet another benefit to wearing polkadots: some people claim that they originate from gypsy dresses covered in small, round mirrors, to avert the evil eye.

Sexy, cheerful, friendly, seductive, protective or simply safe: dots on fabric can take on many guises.

Today, look for dotted fabrics - and find out for yourself how those dots can play with your perception.

Spot the dots, capture them and share your dotted finds on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #kramerseye.

Listen to today’s podcast

Week 10 - Episode 54 - Dancing Dots

Spring is in the air, perfect timing for our new, lively theme: dots.

From children’s clothes to the intricate artworks of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, dots light up and delight our lives on products, in illustrations and in works of art.

Dots - especially polka dots - have an intriguing power to make us happy. DC Comics tried to create a polkadot super villain but, let’s face it, he’s not going to scare anyone in that outfit.

DC Comics Super Villain Mr. Polkadot

We’ll be investigating the allure of the dot all week - today, simply start by spotting the dots!

Capture them and share your dots using the hashtag #kramerseye on Twitter or Instagram.

Listen to today’s podcast - where I talk about my crazy collection of blue polkadot dresses.