[Mike McCarty]

Buried back on page seven of this voluminous thread is a quote by a Mr. Damon Denys.

His quote reads:

"If the visual elements do not attempt to describe a theme, the painting cannot be said to possess a composition at all. In such cases, the painter has only produced an arrangement of visual elements. He is a painter, but he is not an artist."

Based on the volume of Myspace entries that yuz guys are producing I can only conclude that you are bored out of your minds. So, maybe we can exercise our brains a little more on this matter of compositon.

I offer the following images for your consideration.

If you accept Mr. Denys's "theme" premise you could argue that my first image is no composition at all. I'm not sure I accept the premise. Although, if you ask me what theme the image is trying to convey I'm not sure I could answer the question. The opposing view might be: I don't have to answer that question, you're not the boss of me. A theme I've heard from the random child on occasion.

If you can pull yourself away from your Myspace (I was not accepted at Myspace, but instead was juried into Assface - a slightly smaller community) maybe you could ponder the following:

1. What is the theme of the second image? If it is enough to call it "lady in a white dress," then why can't it be enough that the theme of the first image is "boots on the ground pointing East?"

2. What would be the theme of the third image by Winslow Homer?

3. Would you consider the first image to be well composed, without regard to "theme?"