Color Contrast/Culture Contrast

I'm really interested in the debate that's been going on here, particularly involving Theo and Winnie, which is trying to parcel out aspects of seeing that relate to our involvement in art and, more basically, the development of mental structures of the world. Solso breaks this down into two related processes, that of visual processing (which can be affected by physiological differences) and the brain's high-order interpretation of those sensory signals through mental representations of the world (which is affected by socio-cultural context). I'm inclined to place a great deal of emphasis on the cultural component, as one's experiences of sensory perception are shaped by conscious awareness steeped in social structures. When it comes to art, as Mamassian explores, artists use "everyday visual expectations" to define (and/or break) conventions. This step thus blends the aspects of cultural and visual expectations to create artistic statements.

Also, here is a slightly manipulated image showing simultaneous color contrast. The red bulbs on the green tree provide a strong, glowing contrast, and also highlight the red shirt.