Figure/Ground

Positive/Negative Shape Relationships in 2D Art

Figure/Ground

• Figure/Ground: The figure is the subject (not necessarily a person, but the emotional focus), and the ground is the area that the figure occupies

Figure/Ground

• Positive: another name for the “figure”• Negative: another name for the “ground”

Face/Vase

• Rubin face/vase: example of the figure/ground flip.

• When you see the face it is the figure and the vase is the ground…when you see the vase the face is the ground

• Idea was created by a Dutch psychologist named Edgar Rubin in 1915.

Figure/Ground

• When you do two things at once you create a figure/ground relationship

• If you read a book while watching TV• If you text while driving• If you talk to a friend while studying

MC Escher

• Born in Holland and studied art at Harlem’s School of Architecture

• His works explore visual tricks and illusions• Used figure/ground to show transformation

of objects in his illustrations