Ma: The Distance Between Two Things

A space where the main content is the empty space between objects. There are only three items in the picture: a ceramic bottle, a stone, and a small hanging scroll. The distance between them has been precisely considered—about an arm's length between the bottle and the stone, the hanging scroll on the wall is slightly above eye level, and the three are not in a straight line nor do they form a regular triangle. These empty distances are more important than the objects themselves: too close would be crowded, too far would lose their relationship, and a slight adjustment would change the tension of the entire space. The empty spaces are rough earthen walls and wooden floors with nothing on them. The objects themselves are simple and unobtrusive. Avoid: increasing the number of objects, arranging objects in regular geometric relationships, making the spacing seem random, adding decorations to fill the empty space.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一個以物件之間的空白作為主要內容的空間。畫面中只有三件東西:一只陶瓶、一塊石頭、一幅小小的掛軸。它們之間的距離經過精確的推敲——瓶與石之間約一個手臂的長度、掛軸在牆上的高度略高於視線、三者不在同一條線上也不構成規則的三角形。這些空白的距離比物件本身更重要:太近則擁擠、太遠則失去關係、稍微調整就會改變整個空間的張力。空白處是什麼都沒有的粗糙土牆與木地板。物件本身樸素而不搶眼。避免:增加物件的數量、把物件排成規則的幾何關係、讓間距顯得隨意、加入裝飾填滿空白。