I tried to direct the viewer by creating more specific shapes, thereby limiting unwanted projection from the viewer. Most of these new shapes had connections with non western art, and were valid bearers of imagery already. My goal was to introduce the format as a motif for western art. These shapes came with their own set of associations, but none of the unexpected Rorschach surprises. The three shapes I focused on were the elongated oval, dramatically seen in African shields, the fan, and the open, displayed, kimono. I wanted to make the ovals vibrate with color and tilt on their axises, removing them from the usual western use of the oval for polite portraiture or Easter egg allusion.
