Visual, Optical Art and Illusions in Costume

Abstract

Costume art, as a system, represents a combination of silhouette, construction, color, and texture, all of which are subject to various interpretations of visual perception. An optical illusion is a visual illusion — a misperception of visual stimuli caused by different factors, such as inaccuracies or inadequacies in the unconscious correction processes of visual representation (e.g., incorrect assessment of segment lengths, angles, colors, illusions of movement in depicted objects, etc.). The physical causes of optical illusions have been studied both in the context of the physiology of vision and the psychology of visual perception. In artistic imagery, the deliberate distortion of perspective creates special effects, most famously demonstrated in the works of M.C. Escher (see, for example, his lithographs: Up and Down (1947), Convex and Concave (1955), Belvedere (1958), and others). The creation of optical illusions was also a frequent theme in Salvador Dalí’s works (see, for instance, his paintings Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire (1938), Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937), and others).