Knolling: pretty photos with everyday stuff
Our brains are wise, powerful - and LAZY. We are are wired to appreciate symmetry, balance and harmony in art and imagery.
Maybe you already knew there was an actual name for the photography trend on instagram with the ordered flat-lay photos. It was a brand new term for me: knolling.
The term knolling was first coined in 1987 by a janitor working at a furniture fabric shop collaborating with brand Knoll to design chairs. Knoll is famous for its angular furniture and janitor Andrew Kromelow arranged tools in right angles to allow everything to be seen at once. The angled creations drew comparisons to Knoll furniture and led to the term knolling being born.
Contemporary artist and sculptor Tom Sachs adopted the term and made it the mantra for his studio. Featuring in much of his work, Sachs helped take knolling to a wider audience and advertisers quickly saw the benefit of using the technique.
Brands, bloggers and product photographers use this technique to capture our attention. That’s how I discovered the joys of setting up the images for photos. I like pretty things. And I like to present attractive images for Alchemy.
There’s also an unintended consequence: it’s meditative! I’ve set up many compositions just for the joy of it.
If you want to create some images to display on your insta, or just for you, I suggest the Skillshare workshops by Tabitha Park*: colorful flatly, and knolling.
Your brain needs down time. Not because it’s lazy, but because our bodies and our minds need leisure time. ‘Leisure’ are the activities we do because we want to, not because we have to. Gathering up a group of related items and then laying them out is relaxing.
*Actually, I suggest any of her workshops. I have learned to see things differently and improved my photography skills.
