The Dance

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

La Danse (second version) Henri Matisse (PD-US)

Can we ever truly know the difference between what really exists before our eyes, and what are merely our thoughts and perceptions about what we experience? Scientists, philosophers, artists and deep thinkers have been asking and exploring this question for thousands of years, and recent research into the functions of the brain is beginning to reveal some intriguing answers. In a fascinating TED talk, visual research scientist Beau Lotto presented some of his findings about visual perception and how the brain interprets the world, with a focus on how we interpret color. Building on the work of Josef Albers and others, he pointed out that every color we see, and in fact, every thing we see is altered by its relationship to its surroundings. Not only that, the brain also makes interpretations of reality based on our past experiences and on our current state of mind and feelings about the world. He summed up the wo…