TWO x TWO

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.

– Ansel Adams

It may seem like tautology, but one of the most striking things about the concept of pairs, of a duality, is that two is the smallest grouping that’s larger than one. We see the world through our eyes and our eyes only; we are each singular. To expand that to two is a larger conceptual gap than between any other numbers. The concept of two, in all the forms it takes, is nearly mystical; it is the simplest grouping that takes us outside of ourselves, the simplest option to compare, the simplest to contrast.

In art and craft, we see paired objects, one often never seen without the other. Think salt and pepper shakers, or bedside tables. We see opposites dueling in contrast: light and dark, big and small, old and new. We see collaborations in their purest forms, in partnerships between married couples or artists who combine their talents into a greater whole. We are naturally drawn to pairs as a way to understand the world, to tackle its challenges, explain its mysteries, form alliances. We have two eyes, two ears, two arms, two legs. Only one nose, but even that has two nostrils. We perceive the world through sets of two, through pairs and twins and diptychs and couples. It is so fundamental a theme that artists may not even realize they are using it; we naturally gravitate toward narratives and groupings of two. It is a number we are, just barely, capable of comprehending.

Takes two to tango, two to tango,
Two to really get the feeling of romance.
Let’s do the tango, do the tango,
Do the dance of love.

– Louis Armstrong

Pictured Artists: Aaron Macsai, Tom Dahlke, Linda Post, Laura Zindel, Frann Addison, Wendy Ellertson, Jeanne Rye, Robert Alan, Hyde, Ayesha Mayadas, Mary Lang Killilea, Peter Stolvoort, William Mwanga, Edward Spencer, Jonathan Simons, Kathleen Buchanan, Maya Machin