{"id":9306,"date":"2024-09-07T19:28:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-07T19:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/?p=9306"},"modified":"2025-01-01T09:51:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-01T09:51:36","slug":"perception-and-interpretation-of-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/perception-and-interpretation-of-images\/","title":{"rendered":"A study in the perception and interpretation of images"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;core&quot;:\n\t\t\t\t{ &quot;image&quot;:\n\t\t\t\t\t{   &quot;imageLoaded&quot;: false,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;initialized&quot;: false,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;lightboxEnabled&quot;: false,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;hideAnimationEnabled&quot;: false,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;preloadInitialized&quot;: false,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;lightboxAnimation&quot;: &quot;zoom&quot;,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;imageUploadedSrc&quot;: &quot;https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/Optical-puzzle-illusion-upsidedown-photos.jpg&quot;,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;imageCurrentSrc&quot;: &quot;&quot;,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;targetWidth&quot;: &quot;900&quot;,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;targetHeight&quot;: &quot;520&quot;,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;scaleAttr&quot;: &quot;cover&quot;,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t&quot;dialogLabel&quot;: &quot;Enlarged image&quot;\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\" data-wp-interactive class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"520\" data-wp-effect--setStylesOnResize=\"effects.core.image.setStylesOnResize\" data-wp-effect=\"effects.core.image.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-init=\"effects.core.image.initOriginImage\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.core.image.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"actions.core.image.handleLoad\" src=\"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/Optical-puzzle-illusion-upsidedown-photos.jpg\" alt=\"Optical puzzle perception interpretation\" class=\"wp-image-9307\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1;object-fit:cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/Optical-puzzle-illusion-upsidedown-photos.jpg 900w, https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/Optical-puzzle-illusion-upsidedown-photos-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/Optical-puzzle-illusion-upsidedown-photos-768x444.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge image: Optical puzzle perception interpretation\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.core.image.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"context.core.image.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"context.core.image.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>        <div data-wp-body=\"\" class=\"wp-lightbox-overlay zoom\"\n            data-wp-bind--role=\"selectors.core.image.roleAttribute\"\n            data-wp-bind--aria-label=\"selectors.core.image.dialogLabel\"\n            data-wp-class--initialized=\"context.core.image.initialized\"\n            data-wp-class--active=\"context.core.image.lightboxEnabled\"\n            data-wp-class--hideAnimationEnabled=\"context.core.image.hideAnimationEnabled\"\n            data-wp-bind--aria-modal=\"selectors.core.image.ariaModal\"\n            data-wp-effect=\"effects.core.image.initLightbox\"\n            data-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.core.image.handleKeydown\"\n            data-wp-on--touchstart=\"actions.core.image.handleTouchStart\"\n            data-wp-on--touchmove=\"actions.core.image.handleTouchMove\"\n            data-wp-on--touchend=\"actions.core.image.handleTouchEnd\"\n            data-wp-on--click=\"actions.core.image.hideLightbox\"\n            tabindex=\"-1\"\n            >\n                <button type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Close\" style=\"fill: var(--wp--preset--color--contrast)\" class=\"close-button\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.core.image.hideLightbox\">\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M13 11.8l6.1-6.3-1-1-6.1 6.2-6.1-6.2-1 1 6.1 6.3-6.5 6.7 1 1 6.5-6.6 6.5 6.6 1-1z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n                <\/button>\n                <div class=\"lightbox-image-container\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-bind--src=\"context.core.image.imageCurrentSrc\" data-wp-style--object-fit=\"selectors.core.image.lightboxObjectFit\" src=\"\" alt=\"Optical puzzle perception interpretation\" class=\"wp-image-9307\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1;object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n                <div class=\"lightbox-image-container\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default enlarged-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-bind--src=\"selectors.core.image.enlargedImgSrc\" data-wp-style--object-fit=\"selectors.core.image.lightboxObjectFit\" src=\"\" alt=\"Optical puzzle perception interpretation\" class=\"wp-image-9307\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1;object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n                <div class=\"scrim\" style=\"background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--base-2)\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n        <\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s wrong with this picture?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Photograph<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What&#8217;s wrong with this picture?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A study in the perception and interpretation of images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This photograph is an undoctored image, but it&#8217;s very hard to decipher what exactly&#8217;s going on in it. It looks like an aerial photo of rows of terraced houses, but there&#8217;s something not quite right about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a look near the very top left hand corner and you may realise what it is you&#8217;re looking at. You can see a line of cars there, but they are all upside down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The photo is just a straight photo that&#8217;s being viewed upside down. The unexpected orientation of the image creates the effect of disoriention in the observer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The photo shows the way in which the observer tries to construct a meaningful interpretation of an image that is giving confusing and ambiguous cues. The observer may easily be able to recognise that the image shows the walls of houses because the windows and doors are easily identifiable. And there are house roofs here too, but these components don&#8217;t seem to marry up properly to create a coherent whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s a study in visual perception and interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the sake of efficiency the brain makes a lot of assumptions about what it&#8217;s perceiving at any moment, so it takes a few cues and interprets things from there.It only does any extra work if it notices that things don&#8217;t add up, as here. If it didn&#8217;t do that it would have to analyse everything from first principals and you&#8217;d need a brain as big as a planet to do anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/optical-pzzle-solution.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9309\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1;object-fit:cover;width:300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/optical-pzzle-solution.jpg 900w, https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/optical-pzzle-solution-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-content\/uploads\/optical-pzzle-solution-768x444.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The photograph with the correct orientation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s wrong with this picture? Photograph What&#8217;s wrong with this picture? A study in the perception and interpretation of images. This photograph is an undoctored image, but it&#8217;s very hard to decipher what exactly&#8217;s going on in it. It looks like an aerial photo of rows of terraced houses, but there&#8217;s something not quite right [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117,10,14],"tags":[52,124],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9306"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9306"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9835,"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9306\/revisions\/9835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christophermadden.art\/contemporary-art\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}