Pareidolia & Pareidolia Art

     HAMLET.    Do you see yonder cloud that’s almost in shape of a camel?

     POLONIUS.  By the mass and ’tis: like a camel indeed.

     HAMLET.    Methinks it is like a weasel....Or like a whale.

– William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene 2 (1603)

Have you ever imagined seeing animals in cloud formations or a face on the moon? That’s Pareidolia (par-i-DOH-lee-a) — a Greek word for finding meaning in patterns, random textures and sound. It can be when we animate or humanize the inanimate.

My art reveals imaginary people, birds, otherworldly landscapes, fantastical creatures, kissers, dancers and more — that appear like paintings before me on tree trunks and street curbs.

Sometimes these images delight me, even making me laugh out loud. Often, I feel in awe of the rich, magical, overlooked wonders I capture and share.

Happily for me, this ability is not a symptom of psychosis! To make the invisible visible, I photograph my subjects as they appear, with only cropping and analog print techniques, for improved focus. I don’t alter, fabricate or manipulate these hidden-in-plain-sight scenes or my limited edition archival prints.

My work celebrates the often-overlooked, by identifying Sources and Elements like wood, water, soil, tar, metal, asphalt or street paint.

When I first saw the above, originally-horizontal drip of cement - I angled my body downwards, to better observe what reminded me of a Giacometti sculpture …Then, silently mused “Are we the Observer, or the Observed? Looking In, or Looking Out?”

Before photographing this wooden board, I saw many images, including a catlike cloud flowing behind a landscape with Misty Towers.

I later read Leonardo da Vinci describing this technique to see false images (aka Pareidolia) on textured surfaces in his Treatise on Painting:

  “By looking attentively at old and smeared walls, or stones and veined marble of  various colours, you may fancy that you see in them several compositions, landscapes, battles, figures in quick motion, strange countenances, and dresses, with an infinity of other objects. By these confused lines the inventive genius is excited to new exertions.” 

– The Method of Awakening the Mind to a Variety of Inventions, Chapter CCCXLIX, 1482-1519; Published 1633

Aspects of Pareidolia — In Art Throughout Time

Aspects of Pareidolia have appeared in art throughout time, challenging and transforming our perceptions of reality.

Like two 16th century Emperors and a King, I would have liked Giuseppi Arcimboldo to be my official portraitist! His composed grouping (above) of fruits, vegetables and flowers beautifully personified Hapsburg’s Emperor. I first saw his oil paintings in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum and was amazed at how he could combine inanimate ingredients to illustrate a person’s face and personality.

In 2014 Peter Lik sold his photo Phantom (depicted above) for $6.5 million to a private collector. Its subject depicts an ephemeral, ghostlike figure, humanizing a beam of light in Antelope Canyon, AZ.

Pareidolia inspires.

Over time, I hope this Pareidolia way of finding patterns and meaning in the random becomes a springboard for experiencing and celebrating the extraordinary everyday and each other in a new way.