Looking Back Anamorphosis
I have investigated the historical point of appearance of fabricated psychological illusions and how people have applied it. As one of the most significant historical illusion methods, Anamorphosis created illusions to build magical effects in physical spaces for various purposes. (This is distinct from Anamorphic widescreen which is a video-graphic technique utilizing rectangular pixels to store a widescreen image to standard 4:3 aspect ratio.) To be specific, Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective which requires the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image.
For instance, during the 17th century, Baroque trompe l'oeil murals often used this technique to combine actual architectural elements with an illusion. When standing in front of the art work in a specific spot, the architecture blends with a decorative painting. The dome and vault of the Church of St. Ignazio in Rome, painted by Andrea Pozzo, represented the pinnacle of illusions. Due to complaints of blocked light by neighboring monks, Pozzo was commissioned to paint the ceiling to look like the inside of a dome, instead of physically constructing one. However, the ceiling is flat, and there is only one spot where the illusion of a dome looks real. That spot represents the viewers connection to God in certain physical position by divine nature of drawing. Accordingly, the dome not only offers a physical interaction but also gives a meaningful religious experience to the viewer. Researching Anamorphosis made me think about the lack of a deeper theoretical connection between the techniques and the created forms in the trends of modern design. |
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