Ambiguous Image - Accidental Viewpoints

Accidental Viewpoints

An accidental viewpoint is a single visual position that produces an ambiguous image. The accidental viewpoint does not provide enough information to distinguish what the object is. Often, this image is perceived incorrectly and produces an illusion that differs from reality. For example, an image may be split in half, with the top half being enlarged and placed further away from the perceiver in space. This image will be perceived as one complete image from only a single viewpoint in space, rather than the reality of two separate halves of an object. A classic example of point-of-view creating an ambiguous image is the Necker cube. Street artists often use tricks of point-of-view to create 2-dimensional scenes on the ground that appear 3-dimensional.