Thursday, May 04, 2006

On figure-ground visuals



"... In most illustrations, we tend to perceive a figure that stands out from the background. In printed material, the figure is usually darker than its background. Figures also tend to be smaller and more regular than backgrounds. Sometimes these principles do not hold, and we have difficulty distinguishing figures from their backgrounds. However, this difficulty disappears when our brain somehow organizes these difficult visual images into a meaningful and recognizable pattern.."


A seemingly banal figure-ground video, spring in Copenhagen; Sam Renseiw passing by an architectural wall, complete with garden arrangement. View it by clicking here or try finding the hidden bird above by entering the tree. ( patafilm 159, 01'10'', 5.3 MB mov/quicktime)