... a picture which appeals to visual thinking-as distinguished, for example, from a news photograph which many make use of the sense of sight merely for the purpose of informing us of what went on in a certain place-that figure is always to be seen as being incomplete." (Arnheim 11) The eye cannot continue beyond the borders of the photograph and the wholeness of the picture is lost. In a painting, the artist has painted all of the elements to be seen simultaneously. "The spectator may need time to examine each element of the painting but whenever he reaches a conclusion the simultaneity of the whole painting is here to reverse or quality his conclusion." ("Ways of Seeing" 26) A painting maintains its own authority, the painting does not capture momentary appearances it creates its' own. In doing so the viewer becomes a part of the painting, when the viewer steps away ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now