DIMENSIONS: DENOTATION / Quality
C O N S I D E R A T I O N S
The sense of gravity is not visual but psychological. As we are pulled by the gravity of the earth, we tend to attribute heaviness or lightness, stability or instability to individual shapes or groups of shapes.
[Wong, Wucius. Principals of Two-Dimensional Design. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1972.]
Music: That modification of any sound by which it becomes deep or low in respect to some other sound. The gravity of sounds depends in general on the mass, extent, and tension of the sonorous bodies. The larger and more lax the bodies, the slower will be the vibrations and the graver the sounds. [Elson, Louis C. Professor of Theory of Music at the New England Conservatory of Music. Elson's Music Dictionary. Boston: Oliver Ditson Co. MCMV.]
R E F E R E N C E S
Gravity n. 1. the force of attraction by which terrestsrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth. 2. heaviness or weight. 3. gravitation in general. 4. serious or dignified behavior; dignity; solemnity. 5. serious or critical character: He seemed to ignore the gravity of his illness. 6. lowness in pitch, as of sounds. [< L gravitãt- (s. of gravitãs) heaviness]
[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House, 1968.]
Gravity n often attrib [MF or L; MF gravité, fr. L gravitat-, gravitas, fr. gravis] [1509] 1a: dignity or sobriety of bearing b: importance, significance, esp: seriousness c: a serious situation or problem 2: weight 3a [1]; the gravitational attraction of the mass of the earth, the moon, or a planet for bodies at or near its surface [2]: a fundamental physical force that is responsible for interactions which occur because of mass between particles, between aggregations of matter [as stars and planets], and between particles [as photons] and aggregations of matter, that is 1039 times weaker than the stong force, and that extends over infinite distances but is dominant over macroscopic distances esp. between aggregations of matter -called also gravitation, gravitational force; compare Electromagnetism 2a, Strong Force, Weak Force b: Acceleration of Gravity c: Specific Gravity [Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995.]
Copyright
The contents of this site, including all images and text, are for personal, educational, non-commercial use only. The contents of this site may not be reproduced in any form without proper reference to Text, Author, Publisher, and Date of Publication [and page #s when suitable].