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Barbara Knappmeyer of the New York Academy of Sciences applies her expertise in human facial reception to analyzing an exhibition by the late artist Chuck Close.
Issued on June 4, 2024
Dorian DeBose
Recently, Pace Gallery in New York City “Red, Yellow, Blue: The Final Painting” Dedicated to the work of the late artist Chuck Close, the first exhibition since Close’s death in 2021, showcased the final evolution of the great artist.
Close’s paintings stimulate the viewer’s perception: in his later works he paints squares to create stunning portraits. The resolution of the paintings varies greatly, some realistic, others more abstract, yet they are unmistakably human.
Human Face Recognition
Dr. Barbara Knappmeyer, Associate Director of Fellowship at the New York Academy of Sciences, has known Chuck Close for over 20 years and had been fascinated by his paintings even before that, which clearly overlap with Dr. Knappmeyer’s own area of research: human facial perception.
“He was doing this very intuitively,” Dr. Knappmeyer said, “and I don’t think he could have explained in scientific terms how it affected the visual perception system.” [But] He knew how to make it.”
Knappmeyer contributed an article to the magazine about Close’s final exhibition, in which he detailed a scientific explanation for how Close’s work challenges our visual system: looking at a painting from a distance gives us enough information to construct a face in detail, but up close that assumption is shattered.
She writes: “Human visual perception is a highly active process. At every stage, from the retina, through the optic nerve to the primary visual cortex of the brain, and to higher cortical regions, the signal is transformed, filtered, amplified or de-emphasized, combined with existing information, and compiled with information from other brain regions. All of this active signal processing happens automatically in the brain within a matter of seconds, leading to a seemingly instantaneous perceptual experience. We like to believe that what we see is real, but it is only our perception of the truth.”
Recognize faces and sense emotions
Humans are extremely good at identifying faces. Recognizing familiar faces and sensing emotions from other people’s facial expressions are important traits for humans, who are social animals. Even newborn babies can pick up the general outlines of faces.
“When babies are born, literally just opening their eyes, if you show them a pattern with two black dots on top and one black dot on the bottom — the basic template for a face — they’re going to look at this more than anything else,” Dr. Knappmeyer said. “Babies already have some kind of detector that’s drawn to faces more than anything else.”
In fact, the reason art like Close’s is so fascinating is because humans are so good at recognizing faces; it appeals to our most basic assumptions and invites us to dig deeper. Illusionists of all kinds use this trick; from magicians who use sleight of hand to exploit our visual system, to artists like MC Escher who create impossible structures through depth, getting the audience to think about their own observations can result in some very interesting art.
The science of illusions
And the science is just as fascinating: The illusions that manipulate our vision are fertile ground for exploration for artists and scientists alike, and most illusions have been studied endlessly, says Dr. Knappmeyer.
“There are scientists who have dedicated their lives to studying this intersection,” she said.
Michal Rovner’s work “Data Zone, Culture Table #3” depicts what appears to be cultures in a petri dish, but on closer inspection it turns out to be a group of people. The piece plays with the viewer’s assumptions to create a powerful illusion.
“These are things that are very familiar to us as humans, but we’re not familiar with perspectives from far away or up high,” Dr. Knappmeyer said. “This is a fascinating example of how our brains always make assumptions about what we see, and then we’re surprised when those assumptions break down.”
Dr Knappmeyer also highlighted the work of the late sculptor Richard Serra, who often created gigantic structures on the verge of collapse.
“How could such a structure be stable?” asked Dr Knappmeyer. “It seems to contradict our assumptions about gravity and the world around us.”
Use of light
The final artist Knappmeyer mentioned is James Turrell, whose work uses light to create structure and texture in empty space.
“When you get close, it’s hard to tell,” says Dr. Knappmeyer, “you realize there’s no surface, just diffuse light, but it’s so cleverly staged that your brain is tricked into believing there is a surface.”
For Knappmeyer, knowing the science behind the illusion adds depth to Close’s work without taking away from its appeal: “To me, it feels even more magical,” she writes in the conclusion of her essay in the exhibition journal.
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