Look at one or the other
of these two well-known optical illusions and notice how quickly you can change
the image by saying either duck-rabbit or face-vase.
The duck/rabbit and face/vase illusions are well-known examples of
ambiguous information. Seeing is a "best guess" based on the
information at hand. In these examples the visual information presents
alternative interpretations so we see first one image, and then the other. We
don't see the shape apart from the interpretation. The “naming of the thing” simplifies
the process of trying to decipher the visual information.
Visual
ambiguity is not just confined to optical illusions. Vision is a process, not a
picture. We see what is most different and usually group together what is most
similar. We see the obvious changes and make assumptions about what we see
based on what we know and what we expect to see. ("Vision and
Art" by Margaret Livingstone) It is important to understand how
seeing can be compromised by knowledge, expectations, and also language.
When we "name the thing" we are more likely to see what we think we
know about the object. We are less likely to see its specific and accurate
attributes, such as shape variation, color, value and edges. There are varying
levels of visual accuracy and artists need to be able to combine the knowing
and the seeing. At times it is important to be able to see without the
preconceived information of the "knowing." That is why some artists
may view reference material upside down. It takes the information out of
context and makes it easier to see the relationship of shapes, colors and
values.
Realist
painters paint “things” – ordinary (and maybe not so ordinary) objects, people
and places. Realist painting has certain parameters and an obligation to
reflect some aspect of a universally accepted reality. It may be easier to see “things”
than it is to see structure, order and how visual information is related. But
these are just two different ways of seeing.
Realism
can also be about possibility – the possibility of vision and personal
expression - the possibilities inherent in using value and color and making
marks. Never underestimate how "naming the thing" can compromise the
integrity of the visual information.
Do you
really want to paint what you already know? Or do you want to know and see
something in a different way?
“I don't paint things. I
only paint the difference between things.” Henri Matisse
