Lines and Curves

Many times I felt attracted -first as a viewer, then as a photographer- to curved buildings and objects. May be this positive response obeys to our relationship with natural environments. While angular buildings contrast with nature, the curved give us a sense of flow, and help the structure to blend into the landscape. A research paper led by Oshin Vartarian, psychologist of the University of Toronto, showed that the affection for curves seemed to be hard-wired into the brain. They captured the brain activity that occurred when the study participants in the imaging machine considered pictures containing objects with a round style, and others with a rectilinear shape. Turned out people looking at curved design had significantly more activity in a brain area related with cognitive functions, one of them is especially noteworthy: its involvement in emotion. According to the psychologist, "Curvature appears to affect our feelings, which in turn could drive our preference." Stephen Bayley, a British architecture critic, is convinced there is a sexual element in our response to curves. "For reasons hidden in the foundations of the brain's architecture, a curve, because it suggests warmth and well-being and harmony, touches a more profound part of the psyche than a parallelogram," he says. In a similar way, Sydney architect Tony Owen says. “They also relate to the human body. It’s why iPhones, glasses and cars have curves; we instinctively love curvy things.” The debate between lines vs curves could be analyzed from different perspectives and i´m sure there´s still a lot to say about it. Meanwhile I hope you enjoy my selection.