Our perception and understanding of a composition
depends on how we interpret the visual interaction
between the positive and negative elements within
its field. On this page, for example, letters are seen
as dark figures against the white background of the
paper surface. Consequently, we are able to perceive
their organization into words, sentences, and
paragraphs. In the diagrams to the left, the letter
“a” is seen as a figure not only because we recognize
it as a letter in our alphabet but also because its
profile is distinct, its value contrasts with that of
its background, and its placement isolates it from
its context. As it grows in size relative to its field,
however, other elements within and around it begin to
compete for our attention as figures. At times, the
relationship between figures and their background is
so ambiguous that we visually switch their identities
back and forth almost simultaneously.