4.Aesthetic Primitives of Images for Visualization

[ariel]

In the article “ Aesthetic Primitives of Images for Visualization” by Gabriele Peters he talks about the idea of silhouettes and how they are components of an aesthetic image. Silhouettes are outlines of an image that are normally clear enough that the viewer understands what the silhouette is off. Peters says, “as a rule of thumb, one can say, silhouettes appear beautiful, if they capture the main characteristics of an object.” Peters uses the example of a photograph of the two human figures under an umbrella. He continues to explain that when using silhouettes they should be sharp edged and distinct from the background when viewing, however the human body is an exception due the way the brain is able to distinguish body shapes separately. Peters also uses the way Giacometti uses silhouettes in his sculpture as an example. He explains how Giacometti uses the silhouettes of his images at a distance allowing him to reduce them to their outlines.
I think that silhouettes can be as visually aesthetically as an image and sometimes make the viewer think more about what is happening in the image. Silhouettes may have more meaning sometimes and if done right, as Peters explains, can be very beautiful.

[arothstein]

In Aesthetic Primitives of Images for Visualization, G. Peters attempts to explain the phenomenon of the human mind processing images. He is interested in everything from the basic composition of an image to the neuroscience behind how humans interpret it.

The most interesting aspect of his article to me was his illumination of rhythms, patterns, textures and repetition in images. In my mind, these words have always been associated with music and/or tactile, physical objects. The application of these terms to a two-dimensional image encourages me to draw parallels between these two different areas.

The first image I found is a perfect example of exact repetition. The subjects, soldiers, are wearing the same uniforms, standing in the same poses, holding almost identical weapons. The only variation is in their facial features and, to a slight degree, the angle of their heads. If I were to compare this image to a piece of music, I would imagine a steady drumbeat or a repetitive scale. The spatial organization, as Peters would describe it, doesn't draw attention to any specific soldier. The eye is drawn equally to each man, as if suggesting that they are all equals.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007- ... 679877.jpg

Peters also touches on the repetition and rhythm found in nature. My second image is of a cactus, its spine twisting in on itself to create a unique spiral pattern. In this image, the spacial organization specifically draws the viewer's eye to the center: the climax of the swirling. This repetition serves to highlight the cactus' individuality, contrary to the soldiers' anonymity. If I were to relate this image to a rhythmic sound, it would be the swirling water of a whirlpool.

https://www.adamphoto.com/images/403-01.jpg

[jliu]

What I found interesting in this article is how Gabriel Peters talks about complementary colors being an important part of images. In this picture it shows a blue wall with a orangish tinted chair. This photograph is pleasing to the eye because of these two colors. It does not clash with one another, it actually balances each other out and brings out the other's color. What also stood out to me was how Peters stated that in an image, having a few colors would work best rather than having a whole bunch of colors.
"Only a few strong colors. Less is more. Two to three strong colors usually are the maximum for an image still to be pleasant to the yes. If more than a few strong colors occur in an image usually the effect of beauty is lost. (http://www.mat.ucsb.edu/~g.legrady/acad ... itives.pdf)"



The color scheme of this picture works nicely with just the light tan color and the light blue. The colors are not overpowering and with just these two colors, the image is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Because there are only a few colors in this image, it brings out what's in the image. The focus is on the light tan jacket that contrasts with the light blue sky. The light tan has more attention because the color is darker than the blue sky and so this contrast brings the viewers eye straight to the person in this photograph.

[tcecchine]

This image contains a few of the attributes discussed in the article. There is of course a use of motion, color, and time that have all been previously discussed, but in this image all of these attributes play together in interesting way. Because this image is a scientific photograph the importance of the time variable is essential for whoever is studying this image to know what was occurring at what time. Also the color, this is relevant because they use it to determine strength of the storm, or whatever event being studied. In this image it is a planet being looked at and how the image appears on the screen is due to the different temperatures and distances of each part.
“In this visualization, the orbits of the THEMIS fleet are combined with a 2-D slice from a hybrid magnetosphere simulation which illustrates these turbulent regions in the bowshock. This hybrid magnetosphere simulation treats the slow-moving ions by particle-in-cell computational methods and the faster electrons as a massless fluid. These simulations more accurately represent the magnetospheric physics, enabling a view of turbulent non-linear processes not visible in the simpler magnetohydrodynamic models. In this simulation, the color table is somewhat unusual.” Reads the caption under this image.

[klmurphy]

The intricacies of the visualization process and what makes the visuals attractive to a viewer are organized and mathematically deciphered for us in this article. The recommended color scheme to an image in order for it to be 'attractive' or make more of an impact is to only use a few bold colors and instead focus on the complementing of them in relation to each other. This is shown above in the previous 2 posts. One of the posts focuses on the media based side of the world and how this is true, the other is focused on the scientific world where we are shown that many bold colors are used but they each have a meaning to signify the viewer with. In this scientific image the purpose is not to visually please the viewer with aesthetics, but to place an impact upon the viewer by using these selective and distinct colors.
The combination of colors, layout of images, and media solutions in order to place the most effective impact upon the viewer can be deciphered closely, and has been in this article, to a science, yet some of the most famous images when taken, none of these formulas were truly though out but instead just taken with great natural aesthetic taste. For example some of the most famous photographers in the art world don't make sure every image they snap is based of the golden mean...
for example the famous shot by Anne Leibovitz of Yoko Ono and John Lennon is simple and impactful, but reading about how the photo came about, the layout was not planned out at all. In fact,the plan was to have them both nude cradling each other, yet when Yoko refused Annie was upset yet worked around this and came up with an on the spot Polaroid image that proved to be one of Rolling Stones most famous covers of all time.

Although a masterpiece of an image can be created by reading heavily in to these aesthetic formulas, the majority, or almost all of the most famous images of time in our society have not been mathematically thought pre to the shooting based off of this golden mean and spatial organization.

[Manie06]

To discuss the six dimensions of visual aesthetics analyzed in the article by Gabriele Peter I randomly selected three photographs from the website deviantart.com, and out of the six attributes that are aesthetically pleasant to the human eye and brain I will only focus on spatial organization, depth and the human body. The first photograph is that of a young woman standing in the middle of the street with buildings in the background. What is aesthetically pleasing about this photograph is the tone and the contrast originating in the bottom left and becoming brighter as the viewer moves to the high right. In addition to the spatial organization and depth, the woman mirrors the background with her black pants and the white shit she is wearing. There are also sets of trolley tracks that cut and intersect the horizon and are mirrored by the cables that power the trolleys. Although the woman is not positioned in the golden mean section, she could be interpreted as being in the golden mean of the golden mean. Her body is positioned in an awkward standing position that makes her look like a broken stick but her silhouette is that of a human body. The next photograph is that of a pier, both patterns and depth can be found aesthetically pleasing in this image, the patterns of the wood and the three dimensional effect that is created by the depth of the pier are elements discussed by Gabriele. The black and whites are fairly balanced throughout the image and the whole photograph has a very geometric aspect. Finally, the last photograph is a perfect example of patterns being aesthetically pleasing according to Gabriel Peters and the article. There are two sets of patterns and one picks up where the other finishes. The black and white lines of the street interconnect by opposing black and lines of the guy’s sweater that is almost positioned in the golden mean ratio of the photograph.

[Stephanie_V]

Peters discusses how form not only provides us with information necessary for survival, but form also allows us to experience "aesthetic sensation." In order for an image to be pleasing to the human eye, it should possess a few clear and simple objects. Too many details can be displeasing as well. A balanced, simple composition is key, such as in this photo:



The lighter side of the image is at the top left and darkest is the bottom right. There are simple lines and one main object (the man). This image is "favorable" to viewers because of the orientation (diagonal) created by the angle of the camera and re-enforced by the lines from the ceiling and escalator. Peters also discusses silhouettes (the most basic form that represents an object). The normal brain can identify an object by its silhouette and "fill in" the details. In the above example, the man is almost a silhouette, which contrasts the bright sky in front and above him.

[danecsmith]

In this article by Gabriele Peters, six dimensions of visual aesthetics within the photograph were discussed: color, form, spatial organization, motion, depth, and human body. The one that I found most interesting was the aesthetic of motion. I have always been attracted to movement and flow within an image, and as Peters explains “motion inherently is an aesthetic cue because it refers to life and action.” Peters explains that motion is most clearly represented through contrasts changes, not necessarily color. Thus he breaks this section into two main concepts, blur and distinct motion phases.

Peters says that blur is a simple indicator for movement. There are two types of blurs: one is where you have a stationary camera that takes a picture of a moving object (motion blur), and the second is when the camera pans along with the moving object (panning blur). Going back to the idea of motion being contrast changes, this blurring effect on the image allows for extremely prevalent contrast changes within the regions that become blurred. In image 1 we can see that the image is blurred, and in color. However, as Peters describes, motion is not obtained by color, rather the changes of contrast. We can see the high levels of contrast of the multiple street lights within the image, allowing for an overwhelming sense of movement.

Distinct motion phases is the second techniques explained in the motion of photography. When concerned with photography, this can be achieved by taking multiple exposures of an object. Showing movement in an almost movie-like form, where visually the viewer can see the movement of the subject within the photograph. In image 2 we can see the high contrast changes by use of color, as well as a great example of multiple exposure photography. The image of the surfer allows for the viewer to get the sense of movement and visually see the movement of riding a wave within one still image.

[annab]

The attachment with an art installation inside of a building is by an artist named Tom Carr. The second attachment is a typical design for a computer. Both are similar to each other in terms of the article "Aesthetic Primitives of Images for Visualization". In the article, there are "six dimensions". As everyone else has mentioned they are color, form, spatial organization, motion, depth, and the human body. These are basics for the designs as well; though there may be different names and separations, what's important is to consider that these generally always work in creating an aesthetic, but our perspectives play a role in the kind of aesthetic.
Both attachments have a strong sense of color, spatial organization, and movement. The article notes the importance of few colors are better to draw focus; that repetition, rhthym and variation draws the viewer; and the viewer is alluded to motion by blur and motion phases. There is a connection between all of this: the power of few colors is to increase the contrast between two differing ones, but the attention is divided for each new color is introduced--note that it is used in both Tom Carr's installation and the computer artwork. Tom Carr really has only a few colors that are either metallic, monochromatic, or from a color palette between the two. The computer artwork is simply black with orange variants that complete a line. This also plays into the idea of spatial organization. The symmetry of Tom Carrs has variants at each side if the photo (view) was split in half they would look almost exactly alike. Likewise, the computer artwork has variants in repetition that produces a curve which more seems more graceful than a stack of orange parallel lines. And lastly, due to the variants, they add an organic and changing "line" (a curve), suggesting movement, especially the computer artwork, in which mild, consistent, but changing repetition are the basics of movement capture. In essence, the article notes how we find the aesthetic in both geometry (a perfect structure) and contrast (opposing parts). We want to look for perfections in the imperfect, and imperfections in the perfect.

[DCSmith]

Aesthetic Primitives

In the article “Aesthetic Primitives” by Gabriele Peter, the most interesting concept to me was his analysis of Color. Peter talks about a variety of topics regarding ways in which colors are organized or perceived in an aesthetically pleasing image. The use of complimentary colors to highlight and contrast specific parts of an image is, in most cases, common practice amongst artists. In regards to that, a set of a few strong colors in an image, but not in excess, is also intriguing to our eyes. Another use of color was the isolation or emphasis of one particular color, monochromaticity, to make and object stand out. The part that caught my eye was the exploitation of dynamic range, and more specifically the use of High Dynamic Range photography. The dynamic range is the ratio of luminance values of the brightest and darkest parts of an image. In regards to aesthetics, a large range between the darkest shadows and brightest highlights is more interesting to the human eye. Oddly enough with print and photo the dynamic range possible is far lower than humans are able to perceive, leaving photos and prints somewhat lacking. This is why prints and on screen representations of objects/events do not compare to seeing them in real life. This is where HDR, or High Dynamic Range photos become interesting. HDR photos essentially take several pictures at carrying levels of exposure which are then overlapped and masked so that the final result has a larger scale of colors, tones and ranges.
Left image is an example of the emphasis of one specific color, nearly monochromatic. Right image is and example of High Dynamic Range photography.