"Double Perch"
Because our minds gauge distance and scale reflexively by triangulating an object's position from perspective lines, the handsomely positioned set of crosswise cable lines in this counterintuitive image confound normal perspective and suggest a false proximity between airplane and cable, and thus also between bird and plane, until the eye looks more closely. Even then, one's mind struggles a bit to assert the correct take on what's being shown, since imagining a tiny plane landing on a cable is the more arresting and intriguing interpretation. The shot presents a mental puzzle that entertains the eye by trading, in a small way, on the kind of narrative incongruity that makes M.C. Escher's drawings so fascinating. To further compound the viewer's uncertainty at first sight, I had originally considered falsely titling this image "Crow and Dragonfly," which invites inspection and then (no doubt, irritated) repudiation. Any moment of triggered emotional engagement, be it positive or negative, with a beautiful image is counted as a win for the art, since the alternative is the viewer's usual shoulder shrug.
TITLE - "Double Perch"
WHERE - Vancouver, B.C. (2015)