is a design aesthetic referring to the use of light and shade while also implying a balance or harmony in their respective contrast. Its origins are said to lie in Asian art, best represented by the Taoist symbol of the

yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

, although the concept itself is unique to

art education in the United States Art education in the United States refers to the practice of teaching art in American public schools. Before the democratization of education, particularly as promoted by educational philosopher John Dewey, apprenticeship was the traditional rou ...

and is generally described as an American idea. Nōtan, as it is used this way, refers to the relationship between

positive and negative space In art and design, negative space or negative volume is the empty space around and between the subject(s) of an image. In graphic design this is known as white space. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not th ...

, and in

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

, the connection between shape and background. This use of dark and light translates shape and form into flat shapes on a two-dimensional surface. Art historian

Ernest Fenollosa Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (February 18, 1853 – September 21, 1908) was an American art historian of Japanese art, professor of philosophy and political economy at Tokyo Imperial University. An important educator during the modernization of Japa ...

(1853–1908) is credited with introducing nōtan to the United States in the waning years of the

fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

. It was subsequently popularized by

Arthur Wesley Dow Arthur Wesley Dow (April 6, 1857 – December 13, 1922) was an American painter, printmaker, photographer and an arts educator. Early life Arthur Wesley Dow was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1857. Dow received his first art training in 188 ...

in his book ''Composition'' (1899). Bothwell, Dorr; Marlys, Mayfield (1968)
''Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design''
Reinhold Book Corporation. pp. 6-7, 78. . .

Etymology

Initially, the word is built with two kanjis. The first kanji is 濃 (のう, ''nō'' in

On reading , or the Sino-Japanese reading, is the reading of a kanji based on the historical Chinese pronunciation of the character. A single kanji might have multiple ''on'yomi'' pronunciations, reflecting the Chinese pronunciations of different period ...

), which translate to dark, concentrated, thick. This kanji is used in combination to describe colour (濃い, こい, ''koi:'' dark, black), like in 濃紺 (のうこん, ''nōkon:'' dark blue); consistency (濃度, のうど, ''nōdo: concentrated, thick'' ) like in 濃口醤油 (こいくちしょうゆ, ''koikuchishou: dark soy sauce).'' The second kanji 淡 (タン, ''tan'', in On reading) translates as thin, pale, fleeting, weak. Originally, in Japanese, translates to depth of flavour, complexity, light and shade or strength and weakness. It will be used mostly to describe the depth of flavour or richness of a dish, or less often to describe the contrast in a visual piece of art. 濃淡をつける (''nōtan o tsukeru)'' means to add contrast. It will be used for example to better a speech by adding strength to the strong points and making the soft parts even softer. It can be used as well in painting, by making the light colours even light and the dark colours darker. Overall, ''nōtan o tsukeru'' means to emphasize the nuances and make them less subtle.

In art education in the United States

Its usage originates with art historian

(1853–1908), who is credited with introducing the idea to the United States in the waning years of the

. It was subsequently popularized by

in an 1893 article and later expanded in his book ''Composition: Understanding Line, Notan and Color'' (1899). Contrary to what Dow affirms in his book, the word nōtan is rarely used in the Japanese language in aesthetics studies, but is mostly used in reference to flavours. In his book, Dow assimilates the concept of nōtan to the aesthetic quality of a well-balanced painting. This use of light and dark translates shape and form into flat shapes on a two-dimensional surface. Nōtan is traditionally presented in

paint Paint is a material or mixture that, when applied to a solid material and allowed to dry, adds a film-like layer. As art, this is used to create an image or images known as a painting. Paint can be made in many colors and types. Most paints are ...

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. ...

, or cut

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

, but it is relevant to a host of modern-day image-making techniques, such as

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

, and

rotoscoping Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, live-action film images were projected onto a glass panel and traced onto paper. This pr ...

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

In practice

Dow gives several exercises for art students and teachers to practice for example: * Use only a charcoal on paper to render a painting only in black and white * Use a Japanese

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

brush to draw, instead of pencils * Analyse a painting only based on its lines, and not on its content or colours In contemporary art education, nōtan now refers as a practice of rough sketching, using a paintbrush, to catch the main elements of a scene. The practice of nōtan is different than that of shading. Shading aims to represent the dimensionality of an object, while nōtan represents its placement in space.

In photography

n-values nōtan

The first approach to nōtan is via 2-values nōtan which is a black and white sketch. It is done by assembling light tones under the white color, and dark tones under the black color. It is to be noted that, nōtan, being an approach of structure, could technically be done with any two light and dark colors as long as they have sufficient contrast with each other. 3-values nōtan introduces a grey that is a 50/50 mix of the white and the black. Some other acceptations of 2+ values nōtan can be of white, black, and other tones, not necessarily grey. In theory, nōtan can go up to an infinite number of grey values, rejoining then the concept of

greyscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a greyscale (more common in Commonwealth English) or grayscale (more common in American English) image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample repres ...

In Photoshop

It is possible to create a nōtan of an image in Photoshop, by simplifying the textures and colors. The way to do it is by merging all layers, simplifying textures with Gaussian blur, and then adjust for two tones in Image > Adjust > Threshold.

References

{{reflist

External links

Notan: Design in Light and Dark by Sharon Himes

A guide to Notan: The What Why and How

Notan – What It Is And How To Use It In Art

Example of an artist's personal practice of nōtan
Design Painting techniques Calligraphy