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Optical Illusions

The Analysis of Beauty - New Optical Illusions Videos

“The Analysis of Beauty” installation takes its name from the book of the same name written and published by the painter, engraver and satyrist William Hogarth in 1753. On account of the (subjective, but strong) similarity between the imagery of this installation and DNA (this similarity was pointed out to Adam Lowe by Joe Banks), this work was exhibited directly opposite one of Francis Crick and James Watson’s original models of DNA

The sinusoidal patterns visible in this installation produce an optical illusion known as the Kinetic Depth Effect - whereby impressions of “sculptural” form emerge despite the absence of any of the (object) precedence, (geometric and aerial) perspective, stereopsis and (motion) parallax cues traditionally thought to determine human perception of three-dimensional space.

After a little while, the lines may appear to fuse into a rising column or rotating vortex (this impression and its changes in orientation are not generated on-screen, but inside the mind of the viewer). The jumpiness of You Tube sequences can compromise the formation of this illusion, so it may be necessary to let the data for entire clip load completely into You Tube once, before watching the video for a 2nd time, to achieve a smoother image. You may find the image clearer if viewed at the smallest You Tube magnification (buttons to the bottom right of the You Tube screen).

“The Analysis of Beauty” featured in almost every Disinformation solo exhibition, and has also been exhibited at (in “The Rumble” exhibition at) The Royal Society of British Sculptors (London), Sonar at CCCB (Barcelona), The Chamber of Pop Culture (London), Orleans House Gallery (Twickenham), and also gave its name to an Arts Council sponsored UK national touring exhibition. A dedicated “The Analysis of Beauty” exhibition was also proposed to Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art (Sunderland) in January 2003, 18 months before NGCA took the idea, to stage a show of the exact same name, described as “pretty ugly” by The Guardian, which even managed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Hogarth’s “Analysis” in the wrong year!

Although “The Analysis of Beauty” gallery exhibit also features small sculptures, images and text, the technical set-up that produces the central image (as pointed out in “The Rumble” catalogue) strongly resembles the idea of ultrasonic visual music, played with cathode ray tube and tone generators, described by Sci-Fi author J.G. Ballard in his classic short story “The Sound Sweep” (Nova 1962).

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMtz9ciE9M0
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