Abstract
"Projection" describes how painters and cameras depict 3D scenes in 2D. Perceptual theories and studies of projection are dominated by linear perspective, which originated in the Italian Renaissance. Yet, linear perspective fails to explain both how we humans understand realistic pictures, and how artists make them. I propose a theory of projection perception based on a two-stage model of 3D human vision. Shape is locally interpreted for individual eye fixations, primarily in foveal vision; a global understanding arises from spatial relationships between these fixations. I will describe how this framework offers new understanding of many pictorial phenomena across many kinds of realistic pictures, and suggests new ways to make and understand pictures. See https://psyarxiv.com/c7vdr or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUXRcHEu__I for more information. This work has just been accepted to appear in Journal of Vision. I am currently finalizing revisions and plan to update the online preprint this month (February). I can also adapt it to a 30-minute presentation.