Research - Ambiguity

"Ambiguity is the type of meaning in which a phrase, statement or resolution is not explicitly defined, making several interpretations plausible. A common aspect of ambiguity is uncertainty. It is thus an attribute of any idea or statement whose intended meaning cannot be definitively resolved, according to a rule or process with a finite number of steps."

- Wikipedia.

In simplified terms, something is unclear or confusing, or it can be understood in more than one way.

Ambiguity in art is an artwork having several possible interpretations or meanings; of an uncertain future. Ambiguity in art creates multiple interpretations and meanings, letting the viewer think of their own perspectives and experiences of the work. Ambiguity can also add depth and complexity to a piece, making it more engaging and thought-provoking. Many artists use ambiguity in their work to challenge the viewer's assumptions and encourage them to question their understanding of the world.

A good example of a high level of ambiguity is provided by a well-known image; the vase/face illusion illustrated below, in which we can see either a vase or two silhouetted faces facing each other.

"However, it is important to notice that, although we can choose between the vase or the two faces interpretations, we cannot stop the ambiguity of the situation providing a degree of tension."

- Painting School.

An example of this is Tony Cragg, born in the UK in 1949 and has lived and worked in Wuppertal, Germany since 1977. He constantly pushes to find relations between people and the material world, as there is no limit to the materials he might use, and there are no limits to the ideas or forms that he might conceive.

"His early, stacked works present a taxonomical understanding of the world, and he has said that he sees manmade objects as “fossilized keys to a past time which is our present”. So too, the floor and wall arrangements of objects that he started making in the 1980s blur the line between manmade and natural landscapes: they create an outline of something familiar, where the contributing parts relate to the whole. Cragg understands sculpture as a study of how material and material forms affect and form our ideas and emotions. This is exemplified in the way in which Cragg has worked and reworked two broad bodies of work he calls Early Forms and Rational Beings."

- Lisson Gallery.

Spyrogyra, created in 1993, is an example of this, as the collection of objects together can be interpreted as more than one thing; a pile of green bottles in a certain position or a tree created by glass bottles.

Bad Guys, created in 2005, is another example, it is a sculpture made out of bronze. It can be interpreted as a malformed shape made out of bronze, or you can see human faces depending on the angle or side you look at it.

 

Another artist example is Ettore Spalletti (1940 - 2019), an Italian artist. He exhibited at Documenta in 1982 and 1992 and represented Italy at the Venice Biennale in 1997. Spalletti was mostly known for his light blue monochrome paintings that he created on different surfaces and for his creative use of light. Spalletti lived and worked for all his life in his birthplace Cappelle sul Tavo in Abruzzo.

Blu e oro, paesaggio, colour impasto and gold leaf on board can be interpreted as just some coloured stripes on a board, or it can be interpreted differently depending on how the viewer views said piece of art.

Il colore e l'oro, eco rossoazzurro, 2016

Color impasto on board, floater frame on 4 sides, gold leaf