Potential Images: Ambiguity and Indeterminacy in Modern Art

by Dario Gamboni

Ambiguous images play upon the act of visual perception, requiring an interpretation from viewers that involves their memory and imagination. Potential Images is the first systematic exploration of ambiguity in modern art, and considers those works of art that rely on an imaginative response from the viewer to achieve their full effect. Dario Gamboni examines how artists such as Redon, Gauguin, Cézanne and James Ensor sought to involve the beholder and reshape artistic communication. Kandinsky, for example, intended that his work could be interpreted in both figurative and nonfigurative ways, while Duchamp concluded that "it is the beholder who makes the picture."

Genres: Art

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Hallie]

cool..