Man loves to make reason out of his surroundings. One of the most mysterious things that eludes our understanding is ourselves. Why do we make the choices that we do? My point is that scholars sometimes wonder why certain visual elements stimulate us-even the most basic. I'll tell you a story about how I came across a simple theory about basic 2-dimensional shapes and their relation to rock-n-roll music.

As I've learned from my teacher in my motion effects class (which you might have learned if you ever partook in a visual art class) lines can inspire emotion dynamics!-typically diagonal lines bring the most intensity, vertical lines lesser than the formal, and horizontal lines as the lesser of the three. For example, if you a sidewalk that stretched out and became a speck into the horizon, you'd be more mesmerized than you would if you just saw a vast hillside. What is at the end of that sidewalk? Shapes convey the same rules of emotional dynamics as a line. Becuse a triangle has the most diagonal lines in ratio to vertical and horizontal lines, it is the most intense 2-D shape. Lines and shapes can create emotional dynamics, but perhaps emotional dynamics can influence the manipulation of lines and shapes. When someone gets excited at a UT football game or a heavy metal concert, they do the "horns" hand gesture. Have you ever noticed that this gesture consists of two diagonal lines? Of course there is a history behind the devil horns for both parties, but would the release of excitement after the team scores a touchdown be the same if the gesture was changed to the "o.k." gesture (which consists of a circle, a vertical line and two diagonal lines)?

Now back to my story . . . . I was watching a Static-X music video and was astounded by the intensity of the visuals (which I believe was inspired by the heavy-fast style of their music). Before I continue, I would like to clarify the defining of the word "intensity" from my discussion. If you spanned soft rock-n-roll music to that of Bread to heavier styles played by Static-X, you'll find the intensity increases. Intensity does not necessarily deal with the speed of the rhythm or the distortion of the guitar (although they are often related), but the performance and feedback of the band and the listener. Does the music relax you or does it raise your heart beat? I believe that the quicker a song sobers you, the more intense the song. Naturally, I was inspired to brainstorm the theory of intense Rock-n-Roll and its correlation with triangles after seeing that Wayne Static (frontman for Static-X) and his triangle-shaped head.

Emotional dynamics being released through 2-D shapesin the world of Rock-n-Roll has probablly never been thought of (and no one will probably ever care), but I was inspired by new discovery. I felt like I understood myself more as well as the reasoning behind our perception of visual elements and what we find stimulating. You can already assume that my beliefs of triangular shapes as a more popular visual among heavier Rockers (music videos, pictures, and other 2-Dimensional screenings) than in soft rock styles. To conclude my point, my reason why such 2-D shapes are used in such voluntary and involuntary fashions is through a release of emotion; the shapes' visually speak for the musician's music and their performances on screen. perhaps shapes are universal as well as going beyond human intention. The reason why the body of an acoustic guitar as so many circular shapes is so that thte sound can resonate within the instrument. I'm sure the guitar maker did not intentionally think to place circular faces on the acoustic body, but I find it ironic that most soft rockers play with a shape that conforms to their lesser intensity level.

I also found that band names sometimes conformed to my theory. For instance, there are A LOT of diagonals in the font type of "Metallica" (which is found on their CD covers and such), while there are not so many in the Coldplay logo. Coldplay consists of a lot of circles in comparison to "Metallica." Circles are on the opposite side of the spectrum on the 2-D shape/intensity relation. I would suspect that squares would be a happy medium.