The Dancing Shadows: Shifting Perspectives and the Body

Shifting perspectives in visual art from a method point of view are the systems of space rendering, which differ considerably in many cultures and traditions. Shifting perspectives from a metaphor viewpoint have philosophical, technological, social, sexual, and emotional significance. Such perspectives broaden our perception of bodies in space. This study has developed from the examination of diverse shifting perspectives employed in historical and contemporary Western and Chinese art. Through detailed analysis of various art practices dealing with the representation of human identities in relation to changing social and technological environment, the focus of this study is on a new way of viewing the body in space. The contribution of this study to the discussion of shifting perspectives is found in the notion of two kinds of shifting perspectives: first, the relation to the technique of representing three dimensional objects, and secondly, relationships of depth on a two dimensional surface. This research claims that apart from the notion of linear perspective, there more importantly also exist perspectives of receding and ascending third-dimensions which are the compressed third-dimensions leading to the “converted three-dimension” or “two-dimension with three-dimensional attribute”. All these perspectives, whether be methods or metaphors, have been used to combine different visual languages to produce an ambiguous and diverse system of space presentation for the body, “the shadow perspective of sculptural painting”. This visual synthesis of cultural differences created by a system of shifting perspectives is embodied in the paintings that accompany this thesis.