www.monocularity.com
Projective Drawing Systems and the Computer
Dear Drawing Researchers
Monocularity describes a way of looking at the world:
one-eyed, Cyclopean. It also describes a way of
thinking about visual representations: as systems of
geometry in which imaginary rays, or 'projectors',
connect points in the world with notional viewpoints,
intersecting with surfaces to produce pictures.
Linear perspective is the best known of the
'projective drawing systems'. It has become the lingua
franca of pictorial representation, shaping the
development of imaging technologies from the
perspective frame and camera obscura to modern
photography, film and computer visualization.
However, there are many other projective drawing
systems of equal potential, having valuable,
distinctive and sometimes surprising properties of
their own. If they are little used by artists, it is
perhaps because perspective has tended to obscure or
supplant them, diverting their development.
We seek to reverse this trend by investigating the
potential of digital technologies to (re-)integrate
alternative systems of drawing into art and design
practice. Our scope is broad and includes the
historical development of projective representation,
contemporary applications, and new possibilities
suggested by research.
Specifically, monocularity.com asks:
What are the alternatives to linear perspective and
how can the computer help artists to explore and
develop them?
We welcome your comments, contributions and
(constructive!) criticisms.
Jeffery Edwards and George Whale
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