The first image is of an athletics stadium in Brasov, Romania. The curves are concentrated in the near end but both the curved seating and the curved track do provide a sense of movement - the eye tends to go right to left following the track round in an anti-clockwise direction. The mere fact of it being an athletics track adds a connotative element: we associate an athletics track with movement.
This image is of the exit route for the Cabot Circus Shopping Centre in Bristol. The curves in the outside wall are subtle as we are looking head on but evident enough, and emphasised by the shadows on the lower two levels and the slight downhill. Again there is a connotative element: the cars add to the association with movement.
Taken just round the corner from the second image, this shot is taken of the bridge leading from the car park into Cabot Circus. We get a curved effect both from the side rail and the roof and there is a pronounced sense of movement and direction, enhanced by the foreground figure walking in that direction.
This is a sculpture by Hereford School of Art for the Hay Festival.The sense of movement is achieved by taking the curve at an angle - the same structure photographed head-on was more static. Movement and direction are created by the eye moving from the bigger parts of the sculpture to the smaller.
From this exercise I realised that curves do enhance a sense of movement and direction and have demonstrated this in a range of subjects, also pointing out that the sense of movement and direction may manifest themselves differently.
