in this article
In this video, Allen Institute researchers visit the new exhibit Color & Pattern at Seattle’s Pivot Art+Culture to show us how what our brain expects to see can have a strong impact on what it does see.
Evolution has driven our visual system to measure change, difference, and contrast. While the outside world is fixed, our visual system interprets color and pattern based on context, because context is an important component of information. For example, we need context to help us find food and avoid predators. Our basic concepts of shape, color and pattern are determined by context. This creates phenomena and effects that define the basic vocabulary of the visual world and of the artist’s palette.
Click the links below to learn more about the illusions featured in this video.
Citations
about the allen institute
The Allen Institute is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization founded by philanthropist and visionary, the late Paul G. Allen. The Allen Institute is dedicated to answering some of the biggest questions in bioscience and accelerating research worldwide. The Institute is a recognized leader in large-scale research with a commitment to an open science model. For more information, visit alleninstitute.org.
