Art Synectics
Bringing different things into real
connection
Analogy
A comparison between two things that are similar
in some way
1.
2.
3.
4.
Logical
Synesthetic
Affective
Paradoxical
Logical Analogy
similarities in design, structure or function
• Duck compared to boat
• Tree compared to circulatory system
• Bird compared to plane
Synesthetic Analogy
sensory comparisons of an interdisciplinary
nature; perceptions of touch, sound, vision, taste
or smell.
Affective Analogy
emotional resemblances
• Offensive person as a snake
• Beautiful girl as a flower
• Timid as a mouse
Synesthetic Analogy
• “loud silence”
• “the living dead”
• “organized confusion”
(Paradox - is an apparently true statement or
group of statements that leads to a contradiction)
Images & Transformations
Images:
1. Memory – recollections of the past (not fantasy)
2. Imaginary – recollections of the past radically rearranged
3. Hypnogogic – imaginary experiences perceived in the twilight
state of consciousness between sleep and
waking, accompanied by light flashes, sparks,
geometric forms
4. Afterimages – sensory over stimulation (colors reversed)
5. Hallucinations – images perceived as a result of personality
disorders through lack of sleep, intense
concentration, meditation or drugs.
6. Dreams – associated with sleep (REM)
Transformations:
1. Magnification
The “reconstruction” of a subject
matter on a much larger scale than
that of the original
2. Minification
Making an object appear smaller
3. Multiplication
Repeating images or forms within a
composition
Transformations:
4. Substitution
Changing the original qualities of objects
and surfaces (concrete pillow, wooden light
bulb)
5. Reversals
Reversing color, perspective, function,
relative sizes and so on, (reversing
“laws of nature” - gravity)
6. Distortion
Changing an object or image by deformation,
distortion or progressive state of degradation
(burned, dissolved, decomposed, crushed,
cracked, etc…)
Transformations:
7. Fragmentation
Splitting or fragmenting objects or images
(partially developed, dismembered, splitting
planes)
8. Disguising
The use of latent or hidden images;
obscuring the qualities of an object by
wrapping, masking or camouflaging
9. Metamorphosis
Depicting images or forms in progressive states
of change
Transformations:
10. Transmutation
A radical form of metamorphosis
11. Soft Focus
Changing focus of all or parts of an
image; blurred edges or contour lines
12. Progressive Image Breakdown
Subjecting an image to treatment that tends to
deteriorate, obscure or progressively break it
down to simple shapes or patterns.
Transformations:
13. Transference
The intrusion of an object or element into a
space or environment not normally its own
14. Positive-Negative Reversal
Using the photographic negative
rather than the print (or both) in a
composition
15. Animation
Inanimate subjects made to “come to life”
Transformations:
16. Collapsing Volume
Rendering 3-D subjects to appear flat or transparent, through the
use of contour line
17. Partial Delineation
Drawing, carving, or presenting only a portion of an image in its
finished state
18. Simultaneity
Presenting several views or time modes
simultaneously; for example, showing the side,
top, back and bottom views)