Sunday, August 1, 2010

4 Dimensionalism in Painting


What I am seeking... is a motionless movement, something equivalent to what is called the eloquence of silence...
Joan MirĂ³

For Joan MirĂ³, in his latter years, four dimensional painting was a theoretical type of painting in which painting would transcend its two-dimensionality and even the three-dimensionality of sculpture. He could have been talking about the work of Akiyoshi Kitaoka. If you have been wondering about the perceived motion of this blog's header, it is Akiyoshi Kitaoka's work on the eye's response to color that creates the 4 dimensional motion. He is the professor of psychology at the Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. Akiyoshi Kitaoka extensively studies visual illusions (geometrical illusions, lightness illusions, color illusions, motion illusions) and other visual phenomena including visual completion or perceptual transparency. Then he translates those into graphic images. Here are two more of his images:




"Expansion" by Akiyoshi Kitaoka



"Rollers" by Akiyoshi Kitaoka

Remember the other viewpoint of the 4th dimension? If not look at the article,“Art in the 4th Dimension” below. Tony Robbin is best known for interpreting this perspective in 4 dimensional paintings (again...not time). Here is one of his images.

"Painting 2006-7" by Tony Robbin



Since this perspective of the 4th dimension is confusing, here is a video (in 4 parts) with a clear explanation (only if you have the time):