1.1.1: Looking vs Seeing
- Page ID
- 256347
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Looking vs Seeing
by Jon McCallum
We use our eyes to look at thousands of images and objects everyday. And yet, how often do we really see them? Looking is a basic, often subconscious, act. Seeing, in contrast, is an intentional exercise. With seeing, we slow down. We focus. We experience what we are looking at on another level. We let what we are seeing “speak” to us. We engage our mind and heart. We make discoveries.
Laura Muntz Lyall, Interesting Story, 1898, 81 x 100 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Public domain.
Many students who take this course will feel like they are learning to see in new ways, and the visual world will become more alive, more rich, more interesting. We shift from being passive “zombies” to being engaged seers. For some of us this will at first be painful, like going to the gym after being out of shape for some time. Our eyes and brains may get sore, but the more we do it, the stronger our ability to see will become, along with the ability to better describe what we are seeing to others.
This difference between looking and seeing can be related to other art forms, such as music. We might hear a song on the radio and even know some of the words and melodies, bob our heads or snap our fingers with the beat. This basic level of “hearing” in the sonic realm is like “looking” in the visual realm. However, one can go deeper, really listen to the lyrics, maybe even write them down. listen for the chordal structure of the music, the key, the repeating patterns, the tempo, the instruments used, and so on. Deeper levels of insight and understanding may come from the background stories of the band members, the time period and location of where the song was written and recorded, etc. The more we engage and explore, the more we come to realize that there are many more layers of meaning and insight in an artwork, whether musical or visual, than we may have ever thought possible when we were merely participating in a more casual way.
This same kind of deep exploration can be applied to watching movies, reading literature, and most anything art-related, along with other fields as well, such as science, where we observe creatures and aspects of the natural world much more closely than we do in day-to-day living. Another example regards food — when something is good, we have the simple responses of “yum, tastes good, I like it," which can be adequate. But we can also improve our skills of taste-related attentiveness, developing our taste buds to notice the varying factors that create “yumminess” — the certain kinds and degrees of spice, sweetness, saltiness, texture, consistency, etc. And on top of that, there is the next level of being able to put language to our experience so that we can well describe our culinary enjoyment with others.
When it comes to Visual Art, this course will teach you what to look for and help you to develop language for describing well what you are seeing, especially through key terms and ideas known as the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design.