How Dominoes Can Be Used For Art
A domino is a small, rectangular tile marked on one face with either blank or a number of spots–called pips. Dominoes are used like dice or playing cards in a variety of games. The simplest sets contain 28 unique pieces for each combination of ends with values from zero to six, but larger sets are also available.
In addition to being fun to play with, dominoes can be used for artistic expression. People create beautiful lines of dominoes that form a wide variety of shapes, and they can even create 3D structures out of them. Some of the most elaborate dominoes are designed by professional artists and exhibited at museums.
Most of us are familiar with the traditional domino game where players place pieces end to end in a line, with each piece touching the ends of the ones before it and having the same value (one’s touch two’s, three’s touch four’s, etc.). The first player to finish the line wins and scores points.
The most common way to use dominoes is to set them up in long lines. Then, when the first domino is tipped over, it affects the rest of the line and causes them to tip over as well. Many people enjoy creating complex lines of dominoes and watching them all fall over at once. In fact, there are entire shows where people compete to build the most impressive domino effects and reactions before an audience.
A domino effect is when one simple action has much greater–or even catastrophic–consequences than would be expected. The term is often applied to events in the world of science, but it can also be used to describe something in a story. For example, in a novel, a single scene might be insignificant by itself but might have a domino effect if it were followed by several more scenes in the same direction.
Hevesh, the artist who creates some of the most amazing domino art, makes sure that each section of her displays works before she puts them all together. She tests them in slow motion and adjusts them until they work perfectly. This allows her to build the most intricate domino displays, including curved lines and grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3-D structures such as towers and pyramids.
She says that her work can be inspired by nature, art, or even just a random idea she has. She says that when she is designing a new display, she likes to start with the biggest 3-D sections and then work down to the smaller ones.
While She Were Sleeping, the film that made Sandra Bullock a star, is a good example of a domino effect in fiction. The plot of the film centers around a girl who has to lose her boyfriend but is getting on incredibly well with his friend. To resolve this conflict, the writers devise a deus ex machina – the QC (Queen’s Counsel) of the defending lawyer gets his son involved as a witness in the case. This gives the girls’ character an excuse to be with her boyfriend and resolves the conflict.