The framing of this lovely mid-century US Coast Guard photograph is the result of an exercise inspired by conversations about conventions in art presentation that we have had with Liza Dalby–with a focus on the differences between Asian and Western approaches.

Frequently we visually center matted images to optically center them within a frame, which often means adding some “bottom weight” to the dimension of the mat border at the bottom side–effectively up-centering them. Here, we purposefully mimicked proportions in the framing which are evocative of Asian scrolls. How does this strike your eye?

I also encourage you to visit this site representing some of Liza’s explorations and collaborations.