Image Essay #5

This is a piece down by Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin in 1915. I choice this piece because I thought it was an excellent example of figure ground reversal. In this piece, Rubin uses figure ground reversal to hide either the image of two faces looking at each other or a vase depending on which one you see. The vase is the white part on the black background and the figure ground reversal happens when we see the black profiles on the white background. In figure ground reversal, the lines become the outline for two separate shapes. Our eye uses the lines to outline an object whether that be the vase or the two faces.

Another element that helps to trick our eye and create that sudden jump from one picture to another is the principle of Gestalt called grouping. Our eye tries to create a sort of visual order with each of the shapes. One way it does this is by color. So, we see the white vase, but then we see the black, group them together, and TA-DA!, we have a completely new picture of two faces. As you can see, this picture is a great representation of figure ground reversal and grouping.