ART OF PERCEPTION

Art of perception

Is it true that by sharpening your perception, you can change your life? Amy E. Herman in her book called “Visual Intelligence” is exactly talking about this. What is visual intelligence? Is it to see what matters or to see what’s there that others don’t. We have five senses but visual is the one that draws the whole attention and makes a big scene.

Throughout history beauty is measured by vision, eyes only. Umberto Eco wrote two books: “On Beauty” and “On Ugliness” based totally on artworks and visual perception. From ancient times to present both concepts were merely the artists favorite work. In all aspects of life from physical, emotional, spiritual to intellectual, the artists create in order to convey a message. Their first choice of communication is via visual. Visual Arts cover everything from painting through photography, video, film making, theater and architecture.

Everything in our lives including what we see and how we see it, become the raw material for art and our communication. Based on our perception and observation we live our lives and become who we are. 

So how can we improve our lives by improving our visual perception?  Leonardo da Vinci attributed all his accomplishments, scientific and artistic, to his gift which he called “saper vedere” that means “knowing how to see”: also known as visual intelligence.  Some people are born with it, their sense of observation, their intuition, their ability to understand and retain information are much more superior to others and some people develop through training, training through art. Art does not walk away and it is always there for you to go back and study more. I am a graduate of Fine Arts Faculty and hold a degree in interior architecture and environmental design and all my life I have focused on Assessment; using different examining methods like inspecting, observing, studying, analyzing and reviewing the assessment objects such as specifications, mechanisms or activities. 

In our daily lives we mostly go on autopilot and see through our subconscious filters; we just see what we want to see or what we’re told to see. Our filters eliminate the details and keep what is important to us. We process the minimum. Our inherited biology and our biases influence the way how and what we see. The way we perceive information is totally different than other individuals just like the way we observe and gather.

We have subconscious filters and it is very difficult for us to be objective and to base our views on facts. We rather base our observation on our opinions, feelings and values. Sometimes we do not see what is hiding in plain sight and we call ourselves blind. The number one reason for this is because we can not focus. Forbes magazine states that focus can be improved by many exercises. Focusing on a single task is a good way to start and any piece of art is one perfect tool to make it happen.

Artists do create and they influence your beliefs, your obsessions, your success as well as your failures so studying art and improving your focus and your perception will give you an update on all aspects of your life. 

“Art is about raising questions and giving space to interpretation and dialogue” says JR who is an installation artist and a photographer who did photographic installations that took over Rio de Janerio during the 2016 Olympics.  Why and where you put the images should make sense and the statement. 

To be able to understand what is going around us first we should be able to see and assess the who, what, where and when. The Latin root of Perspective from perspectus is ”to inspect, to look through” and it is a point of view from which something is evaluated. By understanding all other perspectives we can also explore the “Why”.  Dr. Wayne Dyner said” Change the way you look at things and the things you look at Change.” 

Art does not change but you do. By studying art, soon you will be seeing what matters.