Image Essay # 8

This is an example of figure ground reversal. Figure ground reversal is when a visual illusion where perception alternates between two possibilities. A pair of shapes, either of which taken alone would be seen as an object of some kind, share a common border-line. What happens then is when joined, each shape competes with the other. I think this picture is a very good example of this. The first thing I notice when I looked at this picture is that there were a bunch of swans juxtaposed in a circular motion. Then I looked again I noticed that between the swans in the front that the black color is actually another shape of a swan. This also goes with the idea of Gestalt. When we first look at this picture we want to know what is going on and make sense of it. This picture also contains many principles of gestalt, such as containment as seen with all of the swans flying in a circle. It also has repetition because the entire image is made of the same type of bird, swans. And lastly continuity as seen by a fluid connection between all of the parts in the composition. I like the fact that an artist can use multiple aspects of art in one piece and still create something that is relaxing to look at makes sense. One may think that if an artist was to use multiple techniques that a picture would be confusing and uneasy to look at.