Up the Down Staircase of Perspective

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer

As an art technique, perspective is used by the artist to draw what appear to be solid objects with three-dimensional depth on a two-dimensional surface, such as paper or canvas or even the side of a building. It pulls the viewer into an art piece and represents an object’s height, width, and depth to create the illusion of “real dimension” on a flat surface.

With perspective, an object has the power to jump out of the page and trick the mind into seeing three dimensions where, in fact, there are only two. It is sometimes difficult to believe that the art piece you are looking at isn’t three dimensional. Perspective is used to give a more realistic portrayal of an artist’s depth of vision. It is quite the magic trick.

Our Attitudes, Opinions, and Experiences

And then there is perspective as a particular attitude – how we regard life and believe it to be so. It's a way of thinking or feeling that is reflected in our words, our actions, our affect, and our behavior. Simply put, it’s the slant on how we look at things.

Perhaps without even realizing it, life experiences weigh in at the back of our minds, shaping and shading how we view the world. We insist that we are in the right when the situation doesn’t really call for such assertions. We zero in on a particularly negative point of the past when we would be better served to erase these lines and be free of the burden.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t exercise Voice when it comes to life situations that require a call to action. Still, I am consistently surprised by how quickly I seem to "just know" that my answer of

A. "My" perspective

is the only right answer on the test when

D. All of the above

applies.

Perspective Is Everything

Even though it doesn't feel like it at times, we do have choices as to the way we look at things. When we are viewing something from a negative perspective, perhaps if we just re-located our vanishing point on the horizon line, our focus would change.

As we adjust our point of sight – “the vanishing point” – the slant of the lines grows longer or shorter depending on “the station point” – the point from which we are standing – all creating an entirely different perspective.

What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are. – C. S. Lewis

As the artist, it is up to us as to where we want to place our vanishing point and our station point and how we want to connect dominant points to our object of focus.

M. C. Escher is the ultimate master of perfecting the fine art of perspective and of fooling our eyes to think that we are going up a staircase when we might be going down. Or not. Or maybe both. Or . . . wait a second. I have to look at this again. Such is the beauty of his work. He shakes things up and shows us that perspective can simultaneously embrace both the up and the down staircase in life.

The next time you are struggling with a negative perspective or a perplexing slant on things, why not think like M. C. Escher and allow for some ambiguity in the situation while you are re-adjusting your vanishing point. Use your creativity, keep your mind open, and perhaps allow for both.

Never underestimate the power of perspective. It can change everything.

Your perspective will either become your prison or your passport. – Steven Furtick