Rules of Perceptual Organization: Figure-Ground Perception

When we first look at visual perception, we must make the figure-ground relationship. We must determine which part of the figure is the ground and which is the background.

For example, in the following image, one can perceive either the statues as being the ground and the wall as the background, or, one can perceive the space between the pottery (the men) as being the ground and the vases as being the background. This relationship allows the ground and background to switch intermittently:

 

As another example, this bookshelf can either be perceived as a bookshelf with various objects located on it or an arrangement of objects to form the shape and appearance of a skull: