Vocabulary
Gestalt
Gestalt is a branch of psychology that deals with visual perception and the
contextual nature of things. Gestalt is often translated as “structure”
or “arrangement” and is often used in the same sense that artists
use the term “composition”.
A basic tenet of Gestalt is that “The whole is greater than the sum of
its parts”; that is that the combination of elements and their relationships
contain more meaning or content that the individual parts taken separately.
In 1910 Max Wertheimer, at the Institute of Psychology in Frankfurt, Germany
began experimenting with the notion of apparent motion such as we see in the
sequentially flashing lights of a marquee, which appear to be one light moving.
In 1912 he published his results that became the core of Gestalt as applied
to the visual arts. The most important parts of his writings were on the Unit
Forming Principles that state the tendencies by which we can anticipate
which parts or features of a visual field will be seen as belonging together
and which will be seen as belonging apart.
| 1) The Figure/Ground Relationship | |
| 2) Principle of Similarity/Dissimilarity | |
| 3) Closure |
Figure/Ground
Relationship
Figure/Ground Relationship says that any visual image must have at least
two features; a salient or meaningful portion called the figure and an indistinct
portion called the ground. We determine figure from ground by various “clues”
which our mind processes simultaneously as we perceive the image. In general
they are;
| The figure is… | The ground is… | |
| In front or on top | Behind or underneath | |
| Meaningful | Lacks meaning or form | |
| Convex | Concave | |
| Unbroken | Broken or interrupted | |
| Dominate | Subordinate | |
| Dark | Light | |
| At the bottom of the picture frame |
|
Reversible Figure/Ground (also known as Alternating Figure/Ground). This is characterized by largely equal and opposite portions which can alternately be viewed as figure or ground. The result is a sort of visual stalemate in which attention may suddenly switch and what was initially seen as the figure may equally as suddenly be viewed as ground and vice versa. A black and white checkerboard is a simple example of this. |
|
| Ambiguous Figure/Ground is a type of “puzzle picture” in which two or more meanings are contained in one space. The portions of the figure and ground do not simply change roles as in reversible F/G, but the visual elements are reorganized into completely different relationships with different meanings. |
Principle of Similarity/Dissimilarity
Principle of Similarity/Dissimilarity says that things that look sufficiently
alike will be seen as belonging together (producing unity) and things, which
look sufficiently different, will be seen as belonging apart (producing variety).
The perception of similarity or dissimilarity is the result of sorting, which
depends on attention and on which characteristics of which element(s)
is (are) seen or viewed as more important. Special forms of similarity grouping
are
| Proximity Grouping is a special case where things that occur together in space will appear to belong together. Grouping by similarity of location. |
|
| Contiguity Grouping is a case where things, which occur together in time, will be perceived as belonging together. Similarity grouping by occurrence in time – Pavlov’s conditioned response is a case of this. |
Closure
Closure is the principle that says that, given sufficient information, patterns
which are incomplete will tend to be completed (by the viewer) in the process
of being perceived. In complex visual images, this entails the perception of
lines or shapes as parts of a larger coherent whole and depends on good continuation;
that is, smooth (as opposed to abrupt) transition from one element to another.
Two other concepts related to an understanding of closure are:
|
Cognitive Contour, which is also referred to as subjective contour, is a situation in which ghostlike shapes are sometimes suggested by lapses or gaps in the figures of an image. |
|
| Principle of Continuity states that whether trained or untrained, the eye will tend to fill in gaps in an incomplete image in the simplest way possible. |
Related to all this is Ziegarnik’s Law which states that we will give attention to, and hold in memory longer, those events that are disturbing, unsolved, puzzling or ambiguous.