Arts & Culture
Figure-Ground Relationship
Quick fact
The figure-ground relationship was famously illustrated by the Rubin vase illusion (1915), where the same shape can be seen either as a white vase or two black faces, but never both at once.
Why this is interesting
Have you ever stared at a cloud and suddenly seen a face, or looked at the famous Rubin's vase and seen two profiles instead? That's your brain making a split-second decision about what is figure and what is ground.