Illusory Depth Based on Interactions Between Fluorescent and Conventional Colours: A Case Study on Frank Stella’s Irregular Polygons Paintings

Abstract

Although Frank Stella intended to create flat, illusion-less Irregular Polygons paintings, it is not uncommon to experience the illusion of colour depth, based on the interaction between their fluorescent and conventional colours. Some critics praised these artworks’ flatness, while others described odd depth experiences that they categorised as a new kind of illusion. In order to provide a correct reading of these works and to reassess their art historical significance, a scientific case study regarding this colour-depth effect imposes itself. This article discusses an experiment in which we determined whether twenty artists, twenty art historians and twenty laypeople experienced fluorescent colours as protruding, receding or flat in combination with conventional colours. We additionally looked at whether they still perceived colour depth when all fluorescent colours were replaced with their conventional variants. All participants observed fifteen designs, which they had to rate according to the perceived depth of each coloured region with a number between −3 (strongly receding) and +3 (strongly protruding). The results revealed that most participants experience fluorescent regions as strongly protruding, unlike all conventional colours, which were rated as much less protruding. When a fluorescent colour was swapped with a conventional variant, all participants experienced significantly less depth. The differences between the subject groups were statistically negligible when looking at the mean depth ratings for both colour types. However, we discovered that artists experienced more contrast effects, as they gave different ratings to different panels (of identical colour and shape) in the same design, depending on their position.

Colour, Pattern, Space and Time in Art Perception: Two Case Studies

“…For Hiraqla Variation II, only 11.5% of the participants did not experience depth, while 83.5% of the participants did (59% even reported strong depth effects). Note that the fluo yellow and fluo blue areas in Effingham I did not generate any depth effects in this study (in contrast Original Contributions -Originalbeiträge to De Winter et al, 2018), again probably due to the ageing effect of the fluorescence in the real painting here (compared to the freshly screen-printed designs in the previous study).…”

“…The first study consisted of a controlled experiment with stimuli derived from Frank Stella's Irregular Polygons series (1965)(1966) for which he created 11 shaped canvasses that were each being executed four times in four different colour combinations, some fluorescent and some conventional (De Winter, Moors, Van Gelder, & Wagemans, 2018). With these works, Stella claimed to have found a new kind of illusionism, which is completely abstract and not relatable to any classic form of illusion known from traditional art.…”

Tracking Frank Stella: An Empirical Evaluation of Art-Historical Issues in an Eye-Movement and Questionnaire Study

“…This means subjecting them to a (semi-controlled) study in a wide sample of viewers. This was already done for color depth and fast capturability in two previous laboratory studies ( De Winter et al, 2018, 2020. The first one (De Winter et al, 2018), based on four Irregular Polygon paintings (1966-'67), showed that participants experienced more depth in the fluorescent colors (i.e., perceived them as protruding) than their conventional variants (as the colors appear in reproductions) or the adjacent conventional colors in the same design.…”

“…This was already done for color depth and fast capturability in two previous laboratory studies ( De Winter et al, 2018, 2020. The first one (De Winter et al, 2018), based on four Irregular Polygon paintings (1966-'67), showed that participants experienced more depth in the fluorescent colors (i.e., perceived them as protruding) than their conventional variants (as the colors appear in reproductions) or the adjacent conventional colors in the same design. This finding is inconsistent with Stella's claim (which he first made in the interview with Lane Slate) that his works are experienced as flat and frontal (i.e., have no depth effects) (Slate, 1966).…”

Transcending Boundaries: A Study on Frank Stella’s Artistic Journey from Flatness to Three-Dimensionality

“…Winter et al explores the visual impact of fluorescent colors on Frank Stella's concept of 'instantaneously capturable' paintings [5]. Another study investigates the illusion of color depth experienced in Frank Stella's Irregular Polygons paintings based on the interaction between their fluorescent and conventional colors [6]. However, this study reevaluate Stella's work within the context of abstraction and disruption to 1 Korean Museum of Straw and Life, Seoul, Korea [Curator] e-mail : jin3233@gmail.com 132…”