Contraries in Art: A Glance at the Structure of Mirror Reflections

This paper aims to contribute to the idea that the relationship between art and science is fundamental to research into the visual structure of mirror reflections. The purpose of the paper is to argue that a) both art and laboratory studies enable us to explore the perceptual constraints underlying the recognition of a scene as “a reflection”; b) research on the experience of reflections is closely linked to research on the experience of space and c) the various different ways of representing and using reflections in art are based on the recognition and manipulation (attenuation or accentuation) of visible relationships of identity and opposition between objects represented in space. Keywords: Mirror reflections, identity-contrariety, perceiving opposites, opposites in art, art and science.