The Illusion of Art: The Gestalt

I would like to preface with a quote from the book called "Art & Fear: Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking" by David Bayles and Ted Orland. And I can pretty much guarantee I'll be referencing this book again.

"In a darkened theater the man in the tuxedo waves his hand and a pigeon appears. We call it magic. In a sunlit studio a painter waves her hand and a whole world takes form. We call it art."

I love the imagery within that statement and I feel as though it encapsulates the beauty and mystery behind artmaking. Realist art is an illusion that carefully manipulates the visual perception of the viewer and in that matter, by creating art, we possess mastery of a scientifically founded "magic". I say this with an understanding (and personal academic research) in the neurology of sensation and perception in regards to art. Without diving into a tangent to explain the mechanics of sight and perception, for the sake of my argument, I'll simplify a very complex process. The brain is good at filling in gaps. We as human beings long for the "Gestalt" or in other words, to perceive things as a whole.

Here are a few examples (of many) illustrating Gestalt:

As artists, this is one of our simplest and greatest tools. I mean, our viewers are wired to see lines and shapes even if we don't physically include them...how great is that?! And that is the reason that the implied or suggestive line is one of your best friends. In reality, the world is not made up of physical lines...if it were, we'd all have outlines like cartoon characters. Remember that and use it to your advantage. When you're drawing realistically, you don't need to put down every single line that you see. Our brains love connecting the dots...and when the dots are already connected, it throws them off and they become aware of your rouse.

Here is an example I drafted for someone who was having trouble drawing teeth (something that troubles many beginning artists).

On the left, I've drawn teeth using suggestive lines. On the right, actual lines. Sure, we know that each tooth is its own separate entity, but the use of full lines creates the illusion of wide spaces between each tooth. Our brain knows what a smile looks like (we have an entire barrel full of schemas that we use in every moment of every day to make sense of the world) and so when we draw, it's unnecessary to put down every detail. It would be like telling someone your phone number by spelling it out alphabetically (f-i-v-e, f-i-v-e, f-i-v-e, t-h-r-e-e, t-w-o...etc)

If you'd like to learn more about visual perception and the Gestalt, Wikipedia has a fairly in-depth entry that is an excellent source to begin with: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestalt_psychology#Properties
I hope this entry provides greater insight into the often overlooked science behind art.