About
Forced Perspective is a photography technique used to create an optical illusion, wherein each subject or object is strategically placed to appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is.
Origin
Using perspective to add an additional level of perception to art is an approach that dates back to the Renaissance. Perspectival anamorphosis, or something created that requires a specific vantage point to view, can be traced back to Leonardo da Vinci and his eye, sketched circa 1485.
German painter Hans Holbein the Younger was notable for his 1533 painting “The Ambassadors,” and the hidden skull, viewable only from certain vantage points.
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When viewed from a certain angle, the skull becomes clear.
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Photographic History
Personal photography became accessible and mainstream in the mid to late 1920s. Eastman Kodak advertised a “Pocket” camera between 1926 and 1929 with prices that ranged from affordable to luxurious.
In the 1930s, Harold Edgerton changed the way people looked at photography, melding art and science as he pioneered strobe flash photography. His most famous photograph is a bullet bursting through an apple.
In October 2006, Flickr user John Robinson uploaded a vintage photograph from the 1930s of his uncle “jumping” over a house.
“My uncles loved playing with cameras and even had a darkroom in the basement of the house in the picture.
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One of the most pervasive examples of this is the trend of tourists photographing themselves interacting with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Flickr has over 300 tagged results. This was documented on Mighty Optical Illusions in August 2006. At 1:20, the following video shows people posing for these pictures in the park that surrounds the tower.
In May 2005, Michael Hughes began taking a series of photographs in which he replaced landmarks with souvenirs. They are all chronicled on his Flickr.
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In 2007, Hughes uploaded another perspective related set, this time with postcards or photographs taking the place of scenery while traveling. Several of these are chronicled at Mighty Optical Illusions
In Street Art
Artists use forced perspective in street art to create alternate landscapes or impossible scenes.
Kurt Wenner began the movement in the mid-1980s, after selling all of his belongings and moving to Rome to study art. His work was the focus of the 1987 National Geographic documentary, “Masterpieces in Chalk.” Julian Beever is another well-known perspective artist, who began chalking in the mid-1990s. In the following video, there are photos of both Wenner and Beever’s work, taken from several perspectives.
In 2009, German artist Edgar Mueller posted a time-lapsed video from the 2008 Festival of World Culture showing how he creates his art as well as the ways people interacted with it.
Spread
In the early 2000s, collections of these images were sent around via email so often, Snopes made an entry about the artists in 2005.
In 2007, WebUrbanist and MetaFilter both brought attention to the technique. People also continued to distribute the photos via email and personal websites and blogs
In 2009, The Daily Mail covered Muller’s work. Instructables.com also posted a how-to guide that year.