Temporal modulation
of ambiguity
and recurrent Aha moments
in contemporary visual art

Ambiguity is a central topic in both perception research and contemporary art. In vision science, ambiguous stimuli reveal the constructive nature of vision, showing how the visual brain organizes incomplete and vague visual information into coherent percepts. In contemporary art, ambiguity is used as a strategy to keep viewers in states of uncertainty, sustaining their attention and encouraging the experience of searching for meaning in visual patterns, while drawing on perceptual principles investigated in vision science. Here, we present and examine works by Vincent Bergeron, who explores transitions from indeterminacy and ambiguity to recognition through visual compositions that unfold over time. He draws on mechanisms of visual perception in order to use them as narrative tools within his work. The works employ fragmentation, temporal smearing, contrast variation, and color manipulations to interrupt and delay the recognition of objects and scenes. These artworks sustain attention by producing recurring cycles of abstraction and recognition,