Assignment #1 - perspective

Due Thursday, January 22 (in class)

CS 99D - The Science of Art
Winter Quarter, 1998
Marc Levoy
Handout #4

Your first assignment is to write a 3-4 page double-spaced paper on one of the topics listed in the first three sections below. Alternatively, you may do one of the projects listed in the last section. However, if you do a project for this assignment, you must write a paper for the next one. (I envision giving you a similar set of choices for the next two assignments.) You may also choose another topic if you clear it with me in advance.

Papers must be typed or printed, not handwritten. They will be graded on effort, content, and style. In writing your paper, I encourage you to make use of the books listed in the course bibliography (handout #2), even for topics in the first section. In addition to the items on reserve in the library, I have copies of each of these books, which I might be willing to lend out. I am also happy to meet with you, during office hours or by appointment, to discuss your paper and to offer suggestions for additional readings.

In addition to the written assignment, a few of you (among those who choose to write papers) will be asked to briefly present your ideas in class on the due date. Your presentation is not intended to be a reading of your paper, but a proper talk. In other words, it should be lively and should engage the class in discussion.

Topics drawn from the required readings and from class discussions

• Helmholtz, in his brief but perceptive discussion of perspective on pp. 283-4, describes several cues that we did not consider in class and that are also not mentioned by Robert Solso. Confining yourself to perspectival cues, make a list that combines the cues described by Helmholtz and by Solso. Arrange these into a multi-level taxonomy in the style of Solso's figure 7.4. What is the organizing principle of your taxonomy? Can you think of any additions?
  
  
• Write a "pamphlet", addressed to your fellow Renaissance artists, telling them why they should use the newly invented science of linear perspective in their paintings. Don't forget to talk about the ways in which perspective can be used to enrich the dramatic power and the story-telling ability of a painting. Feel free to use insights you have gained from the art of more recent times, but don't give them culture shock.

Topics involving readings from the bibliography

• P. Steadman, in a paper reprinted in The Artful Eye, tries to prove that Vermeer used a camera obscura to generate the nearly perfect perspectives of his paintings, as many art historians have suspected. Part of his proof consists of building a physical replica of the room in which many of Vermeer's paintings are set. Read Steadman's account and make a critical evaluation of it. Do you think he is right? Why or why not?
  
  
• J.V. Field, in a chapter in The Invention of Infinity, tries to decide if Masaccio knew how to construct a "correct" perspective view when he painted his famous trompe l'oeil chapel in Santa Maria Novella in Florence. As part of his analysis, he attempts to build a 3D virtual model of the imaginary chapel. Read Field's account. Is he right about the errors in the painting? Did Masaccio know what he was doing? Defend your opinion.

Topics that may require additional research

• Trace the historical development of projection systems, whether linear perspective or not, of a non-Western-European culture.
  
  
• Analyze the use of perspective in the works of an artist we have not covered in class. Consider both technical and programmatic aspects of their use of perspective.
  
  
• The making of curved or hybrid 2D-3D dioramas for entertainment and museums has an interesting history. Diorama-makers employ many tricks we have not discussed in class to enhance the realism of their illusions. Research the history of dioramas and write a summary of your findings.

Some non-writing projects

• Make an accurate perspective drawing of a reasonably complicated three-dimensional scene. Use a "correct" linear perspective construction method such as the one presented in class. For this project, you will need to know key dimensions of your scene in both plan and elevation, so choose your scene carefully. A furnished but uncluttered dorm room has about the right amount of complexity.
  
  
• Write a step-by-step Web tutorial suitable for teaching Stanford art students how to draw objects in correct perspective. Concentrate on architectural objects if you like. See me for some sample handbooks of perspective drawing.