Illusions & Arts
Arts and illusions are intrinsically linked. The history of the visual and plastic arts is a succession of illusions, from rock paintings to the holograms of today.
From antiquity, early trompe-l'oeil deliver the illusion of depth in confined rooms, and tricks of perspective exaggerate the proportions of buildings, or make their forms more harmonious.
In the Middle Ages, artists hide symbols and set scenes within scenes in their works, creating scenes that the public must decode patiently.
During the Renaissance, artists perfect the technique of the perspective. Effects of depth in their works are exquisite (see Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper). Working with colours and reproducing light allows painters to achieve a staggering realism. Artists make use of them to perfect their trompe-l'oeil, or to hide images in their works, images that will not be seen unless we look at a painting from a certain angle, courtesy of anamorphosis (see following panel).
This work with light continues during the Baroque era.
Painters of that time improve chiaroscuro techniques,
which utilise colour contrasts. The result is a staggering effect of realism.
From the invention of photography and then of cinematography, we see special effects appear: techniques that make it possible to add things to photos or films that do not really exist. These new technologies are also a challenge to pictorial artists, who push the realism of images and the illusion of motion even further.
Today, digital technologies are making it possible to generate images that are able to fool most people, create holograms, or explore non-existent spaces using virtual reality. And who knows what the future has in store for us!
Anamorphosis
This is a drawing technique that makes it possible to warp a design while retaining some of its proportions. It makes it possible to draw this design in a realistic way by reproducing the deformations of perspective.
Special Effects
In cinematography, these are all of the means that allow things to be filmed that do not exist or are impossible. From the very first films, pioneers such as Georges Méliès have invented techniques for depicting false backdrops by means of trompe-l'oeil, imaginary persons by means of make-up, and fantasy events by means of camera tricks and montage.
Cinematography
How to record motion. When a camera films a scene, it takes a photo of the scene at very rapid intervals – at least 6 per second, 30 to 60 in the ideal case. When these photos are projected at the same speed, human viewers have the impression of seeing these images move, courtesy of retinal persistence.
Hologram
How to project images as a volume? Multiple techniques are available: printed images that reproduce the change of perspective when the viewpoint is altered; projected light that makes an intangible object appear, and so on. Unlike virtual reality, a hologram can be seen by everybody and you do not need to wear a helmet.
Chiaroscuro
In reality, colours and light influence each other in a complex way, creating zones of shadow and light that clash. By examining how to reproduce these strong contrasts using shades of paint, the chiaroscuro technique enables an impression of realism and volume in a painted scene.
Digital
All of the techniques made possible by computers. These machines only take account of numbers, hence the name. Today, these technologies can be found in all fields of art: music, illustration, photo, sculpture... When digital produces images, static or animated, the term used is computer generated graphics (CGI) or synthetic images.
Perspective
Ways of depicting three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface. How to draw a chair on a sheet of paper in a realistic way?
Something that is far away seems smaller than something we find near us. When these proportions are followed, the drawing seems to acquire depth. Similarly, objects do not look the same depending on the angle from which they are looked at. Like playing tricks with relative size, reproducing these angles in the drawing makes it possible to accentuate the effect of depth (see anamorphosis).
Virtual Reality
How to immerse the viewer in the heart of synthetic images (see digital). This technology utilises a helmet that projects the images it is supposed to see into each eye. The image is slightly different for each eye, which reproduces an effect of perspective. Add some sound and motion analysis, and you have the impression of being immersed in the heart of the experience.
Photography
How to record a real image. Originally, a chemically treated plate captures the light that strikes it, recording the contrasts between each ray: the obtained result is a black and white image. As technology evolved, photography recorded colour, then utilised digital techniques.
Trompe-l'oeil
This is an image that seeks to convince its viewers that it is not a picture. By utilising perspective, light and other techniques, a trompe l'oeil delivers the impression of having volume and depth. In antiquity, the Romans used it in order to make rooms seem larger.
Realism
Making an artwork that can be confused with reality, approximating as closely as possible the real appearance of things. This includes techniques such as perspective, chiaroscuro, and so on. But it also includes the choice of subjects, seeking "a raw depiction of daily life".
Symbols
If you see a dove with an olive branch drawn somewhere, you know what is being talked about: peace. This is a symbol: a way of depicting something or somebody by replacing it with something else that makes us think of it. Heavily used in medieval pictorial art, the symbol makes it possible to lend more meaning to a work: the literal sense, that is, what it depicts specifically (in this case, a bird with a branch in its beak) and the figurative sense, that is, the meaning of the symbols that it utilises (in this case, peace).