GEOMETRY OF THE STORY

I sat down this afternoon and made some measurements with my calipers to show the underlying structure of the story. I wished to share how carefully knit the structure of this composition is.

1. The geometry of the structure is laid out in this way with meticulous purpose. It tells the story. If you rearrange the structure, you will destroy the story.

The mathematical spacing of the parts is the story and that spacing is critical for the understanding and clarity of the visual narrative. 

2. Pacing is critical in the art of storytelling. Spacing is how you show pacing in a visual narrative. The rate of speed that the figures progress in the composition is specific to telling the story. The rate of speed is the force or kinetic energy of the figures. You cannot ram a battle scene into a quiet scene; nor can you move from a quiet scene into anq energetic scene without the proper transition and spacing. Parts need to build into each other and flow with the correct rate of energy and speed to maintain harmony of the whole. 

The relief was carefully constructed to make specific groupings with specific lengths or visual weight again to explain the narrative. Specific transitions were built in to the relief for clarity of story.

Reducing any of the sections will destroy the figure groupings. The groupings will blend together without purpose or sense and the kinetic energy of the specific sections will be lost.

I have made a musical analogy at the top of the diagram which refers to the pace of the action.

3. The composition was knit with a precision towards symmetry. This is a key element to make something sacred that is also remembered. People remember symmetry.

Symmetry creates a sense of balance and unity that is essential to maintain a hierarchy of importance in the relationship of the parts to the whole.

The wall has these 5 specific narrative scenes;

1. Homefront

2. Departure

3. Battle

4. Cost of war

5. Return

Each section is carefully designed to fit precisely and exactly within the hierarchy of the whole.