Authors: Scott Skinner
Date Submitted: May 31, 2000
Article Type: Journal

Reading Istvan Bodoczky’s small, elegant volume titled Hidden Symmetry proves to me the value of individual expression in kite-making. Istvan explains in the preface that his recent works "have irregular asymmetric outlines" and that "I make line drawings first, and only later decide which lines will be ‘real'(painted) and which ones will be ‘only’ part of the physical structure."

A glance through the pamphlet shows what an understatement he makes: his irregular asymmetric outlines contain interesting negative spaces that cry out to be flown in changing skies. Knowing that these forms might all fly like kites challenges the reader imagine their orientation and characteristics in the air. This use of random shapes and negative space could not be further from my own kite-making approach, marrying as it does geometric kite shapes. But, in fact, it’s surprising how similar our approaches become when you consider the role of the viewer.

Istvan states that "symmetry is linked with motionlessness, timelessness, whereas asymmetry is aligned with movement and with time." When his irregular structures become stable kites, they become, to the viewer, more symmetric. Yet even while displaying flight symmetry, the viewer senses an element of asymmetry since the kite is always moving, always reacting to a changing environment.

PDF Link: Journal Issue