Gestalt psychology

Gestalt, a German theory that studies the brains psychological reaction to forms, and our brains need to create unity within chaos. Gestalt psychology is a theory of mind and brain positing that the operational principle of the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self organizing tendencies, and that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. The Gestalt effect refers to the form-forming capability of our senses. Many artists have called upon Gestalt theories to make their artwork believable relying on the brain to create unity and shapes.

The picture below show a piece of paper is fixed to a base with drawing pins. A hand is busy sketching a shirt-cuff upon the drawing paper. At this point its work is incomplete, but a little further to the right it has already drawn another hand emerging from a sleeve in such detail that this hand has come right up out of the flat surface, and in its turn it is sketching the cuff from which the right hand is emerging, as though it were living member.

This drawing is the “Drawing Hands” by M.C. Escher. It is a fusion of 2-D and 3-D art in which the hands are lifelike, while the wrists and sleeves are simple line sketches. This piece has many connection with the Gestalt laws of grouping. The first of which is the principle of good continuation where the hands are positioned in a circle to maintain continuity. Although the circle creates a focal point in the center, the emphasis is on the obvious contrast between the 3-D hands and the 2-D sleeves. Similarly, the principle of connectedness follows the idea of continuation because the hands are within close proximity to each other establishing a sense of unity. The
proportionality between the two hands also develops a balance because they are within a symmetrical setting; two hands with two sleeves each holding one pencil. The title’s play on words also enforces the idea of balance because one hand is drawing the other, and thus, one exist because of the other. In addition, the balanced negative and positive space portrays the principle of similarity because the ground and figure are equidistantly apart. Escher’s art piece is like a visual and mental exercise that implicitly educates the general public about the various Gestalt principles.

The image "Drawing Hands" are found in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DrawingHands.jpg