observation

WHAT WE BELIEVE

WHAT WE BELIEVE

The Invisible Gorilla Test (1999) Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris

The Invisible Gorilla Test (1999) Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris

The Hortus Deliciarum, Herrad von Landsber, 1870

WHAT WE SEE IS WHAT WE BELIEVE!

The Wilton Diptych, 1395-1399

James Turrell, Virtuality squared, 2014

The way we observe is affected by a whole series of learnt assumptions and experiences.

James Turrell, Apani, 2011

A phenomenon of perception caused by exposure to an unstructured and homogeneous visual field. Since our brains are designed to find patterns, it can start to make things up when there's no real pattern to find. The Ganzfeld effect frequently causes hallucinations and an altered state of mind.

GANZFEL EFFECT:

SEEING / OBSERVATION “ It is important to realize that observation is much more than merely seeing something; it also involves a mental process. In all observations there are two elements : (a) the sense- perceptual element (usually visual) and (b) the mental, which may be partly conscious and partly unconscious. ”

- The Art of Scientific Investigation, W. I. B. Beveridge

ACTIVEOBSERVATION “ It is important to realize that observation is much more than merely seeing something; it also involves a mental process. In all observations there are two elements : (a) the sense- perceptual element (usually visual) and (b) the mental, which may be partly conscious and partly unconscious.

Active observation involves firstly noticing some object or event. The thing noticed will only become significant if the mind of the observer either consciously or unconsciously relates it to some relevant knowledge or past experience, or if in pondering on it subsequently he arrives at some hypothesis. ”

- The Art of Scientific Investigation, W. I. B. Beveridge

HOW TO PRACTICE?

1. Identify what to observe. 2. Become familiar with the object/event in its setting. 3. Determine how to observe the object or event (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, measurement). 4. Consider any biases or frames of reference that may impact the observation. 5. Decide on a format for recording the observation. 6. Use your sensory elements to observe the object/event and identify the details.

7. Immediate review: After observing the event, try to process the information that you observed in as many modes as available to you, e.g., writing, speaking, typing, drawing, acting out, seeing, etc.

Immediate active processing is an important part of active observation.

Chuck Close, Lucas, 1986

Chuck Close, Phil, 2011

Philip Glass, A Musical Portrait of Chuck Close, 2005

Alfred Yarbus’s eye tracking studies, circa 1967

FOVEAL VISION & SACCADE

METACOGNITION

The act of consciously considering one's own thought processes by planning, monitoring, and evaluating them. (thinking about your thinking)

Édouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1882

THEATRICALITY & ABSORPTION

Édouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1882Jeff Wall, Picture for Women, 1979

Jeff Wall, Adrian Walker, Artist, Drawing From a Specimen in a Labaoratory in the Dept. of Anatomy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 1992

Jean-Baptiste-Simeon ChardinA Bar at The Young Draughtsman, 1737

THEATRICALITY & ABSORPTION

William Eggleston

William Eggleston

Similarity occurs when two or more subjects look similar to one another. By applying this principle into our image we can make a visual interaction between different elements on our image or generate a new content through those interactions.

The repetition within forms caused by this principle, can have a pleasing appearance, and will often instill a feeling of harmony or rhythm.

PRINCIPLE OF SIMILARITY

Georges Seurat

Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan

Anomaly happens when a visual subject disrupts a similar pattern or a harmony and as a result it becomes a foveal point.

Anomaly draws the viewer's attention to one specific area in the scene, which could relieve the monotony of the scene by breaking up the regularity of surface.

PRINCIPLE OF ANOMALY

Tom Hunter

Tom Hunter

Continuation occurs when our eye is compelled to move through one part of the image and continue to another part.

By using this principle we can create a fluid movement or ‘eye-flow’ between compositional elements, and along with different subjects.

PRINCIPLE OF CONTINUATION

Katsushika Hokusai

Chien-Chi Chang

Alex Prager

GESTALT PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTION

Gestalt Theory or Gestaltism, is a psychological term coined by Berlin School in 1920, defines that the human eye sees objects in their entirety before perceiving their individual parts, suggesting the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To practice active observation, we can use a these principles derived from Gestalt theory to identify attributes, behaviors, and relationships about objects or events and also increase our ability to gather data from our surroundings.