philosophical conceptWikidata
Observer-Dependent Reality
Also: observer effect, viewer-dependent, anamorphosis, perspectival art, measurement problem, subject-object problem, contingent reality
The philosophical and structural condition in which an artwork exists as intended only from one precise viewpoint — the conceptual core of Jonty Hurwitz's practice, making the observer a co-author of the work.
Definition
Observer-dependent reality is the idea that the properties of a thing are not fixed independently of observation but are constituted in part by the position or perspective of the observer. In art it describes works whose intended form exists only relative to a specific point of view.
Discussion
Observer-dependent reality describes a state in which an object or phenomenon is not fixed but exists in relation to the viewer. In this context, the observer becomes a co-author of the work, whose presence and perspective are required to complete it. The concept draws a parallel between principles of quantum mechanics and traditions of perspectival art like anamorphosis.
