[WiZ] Abstract: It's Art {Picture Puzzle}

[WiZ]

This piece of abstract art tells a short but interesting story. What is it?



Stolen from Reddit. Caveat Earlispoilor.

[trebor]

Is this meant to be a table and chair? Is the perspective meant to be straight-on? Viewing something from above? Underneath? The side?

[WiZ]

Is this meant to be a table and chair? no Is the perspective meant to be straight-on? yes Viewing something from above? no Underneath? no, small ish The side? no

[wunderland]

The two main colours are paint, right? Was it painted as art? photographed as art?
Was the light colour painted over the dark? (I won't risk trying to name them!) vice versa?
Was something attached to the surface when the top colour was painted on? obstructing areas so that the bottom colour could not be painted over? are the two dots in the rectangle holes left by nails/screws?
Was the rough line around the rectangle intended to mark the position of an object before it was detached?

[WiZ]

The two main colours are paint, right? correct Was it painted as art? no photographed as art? noish
Was the light colour painted over the dark? yope (I won't risk trying to name them!) I used to sell paint for a living and I don't feel brave enough to venture past 'tannish' and 'greyish' vice versa? and yope
Was something attached to the surface when the top colour was painted on? yope! obstructing areas so that the bottom colour could not be painted over? this thinking is very relevant are the two dots in the rectangle holes left by nails/screws? yes (and I realised a little too late that they were more conspicuous than I had at first thunk)
Was the rough line around the rectangle intended to mark the position of an object before it was detached? not by design, but this is what it indicates.

[biograd]

Is it relevant that if the rectangle were a real object, held up by the nails/screws, that pulling out the nails/screws would cause it to hit the other gray piece as it fell? that its center of gravity is too far to the right for it to actually balance on the larger gray piece, and that it would tip to the right and continue to fall?

A movie of the process I just described plays over and over in my head as I look at the picture...

[WiZ]

Is it relevant that if the rectangle were a real object, held up by the nails/screws, that pulling out the nails/screws would cause it to hit the other gray piece as it fell? no that its center of gravity is too far to the right for it to actually balance on the larger gray piece, and that it would tip to the right and continue to fall? no

A movie of the process I just described plays over and over in my head as I look at the picture... Me, too (now) - you have described the scene well.

[GalFisk]

Relevant how the paint was applied? If so: brushed? Sprayed? Rolled? Poured? Applied accidentally? Maliciously? Inexpertly? Was anything else also painted? Was the thing attached with the screws also painted?

[wunderland]

Was the whole photographed area initially painted one colour? if so, tannish? greyish?
Was the greyish rectangle created by painting tannish over greyish and omitting the rectangle? if so, was the rectangle omitted because it was obstructed? by an attached object?
Was the rectangle's outline drawn around an object while it was attached to the surface? while it was positioned in contact with the surface prior to being attached?
Was the left-side greyish area created by painting tannish over greyish and omitting that area? if so, was the area omitted because it was obstructed by something? something attached to the surface? more than one object?
Were the two greyish shapes created by being omitted from the same coat of paint? Were they both obstructed by the same object?
Was the greyish paint applied over the tannish paint at any point?
Did any coat of paint relevantly change colour over time?
Is the surface vertical? a wall? indoors? outdoors? a portable object?

[WiZ]

GalFisk

Relevant how the paint was applied? In terms of method, no, but your other questions point to relevant aspects If so: brushed? Sprayed? Rolled? Poured? no to these Applied accidentally? Maliciously? no to both Inexpertly? yes Was anything else also painted? yes Was the thing attached with the screws also painted? yes

Wunderland

Was the whole photographed area initially painted one colour? yes, good question if so, tannish? yope to noish greyish? yope to yesish
Was the greyish rectangle created by painting tannish over greyish and omitting the rectangle? at a point, yes if so, was the rectangle omitted because it was obstructed? by an attached object? yes to both
Was the rectangle's outline drawn around an object while it was attached to the surface? no to 'drawn' while it was positioned in contact with the surface prior to being attached? no
Was the left-side greyish area created by painting tannish over greyish and omitting that area? no if so, was the area omitted because it was obstructed by something? no something attached to the surface? more than one object? n/a to these
Were the two greyish shapes created by being omitted from the same coat of paint? no! Were they both obstructed by the same object? no
Was the greyish paint applied over the tannish paint at any point? yes!
Did any coat of paint relevantly change colour over time? no
Is the surface vertical? a wall? indoors? yes to all outdoors? a portable object? no to both

[GalFisk]

Is this the result of one relevant application of paint? Two? Three? More? Did the gray area on the left get its shape from some obstruction?

[WiZ]

Is this the result of one relevant application of paint? Two? Three? this, good Q More? Did the gray area on the left get its shape from some obstruction? not on the left, no

[irishelk]

Not sure if we've established this, but are we looking at a wall? Ceiling? Floor? Another surface? (if so, insert appropriate word in place of "Wall" below...)

Is this sequence correct?:
--Wall is painted gray
--Object is attached
--Wall is painted tannish--object obstructs part of the paint job, and object is also painted
--Object is removed
--left part of wall is painted the same gray color again?

Is what we're seeing on the left the beginning of a paint job that will cover the whole wall?

[trebor]

Was the thing that was held up by the screws a shelf?

[JenBurdoo]

Or a table?

Is there any part of this art, or anything relevant to it (other than what was attached to the screws), that we cannot see because it is outside the field of view?

[WiZ]

IrishElk

Not sure if we've established this, but are we looking at a wall? yes Ceiling? Floor? Another surface? (if so, insert appropriate word in place of "Wall" below...) no to rest

Is this sequence correct?: yes
--Wall is painted gray
--Object is attached
--Wall is painted tannish--object obstructs part of the paint job, and object is also painted
--Object is removed
--left part of wall is painted the same gray color again? yes - why would this be interesting?

Is what we're seeing on the left the beginning of a paint job that will cover the whole wall? yes

Trebor

Was the thing that was held up by the screws a shelf? assume yes (it's not pivotal to the solution, but quite likely)

JenBurdoo

Or a table? this is about equally plausible

Is there any part of this art, or anything relevant to it (other than what was attached to the screws), that we cannot see because it is outside the field of view? no

[irishelk]

Oh, maybe someone wanted to get rid of the discoloration left when the object was removed, but they didn't have any more tan paint? So they had to paint the whole wall gray again?
Or maybe removing the object made them realize that the wall should be gray? Looks better gray? Reminded them that they have gray paint?

[WiZ]

Oh, maybe someone wanted to get rid of the discoloration left when the object was removed, but they didn't have any more tan paint? So they had to paint the whole wall gray again? no
Or maybe removing the object made them realize removing the object brought them to a relevant realisation, it must be said that the wall should be gray? Looks better gray? Reminded them that they have gray paint? but not any of these

[Acridian9]

This reminds me of when my wife made me paint half of the (at the moment white) room of our incoming daughter light blue (and made me attach a strip of wallpaper too!) When I got to painting around the radiator (which she made me paint light blue too!) I found out that behind the radiator the wall was already painted light blue, and deduced that that was the color before the white paint.
Something similar going on here?

[WiZ]

This reminds me of when my wife made me paint half of the (at the moment white) room of our incoming daughter light blue (and made me attach a strip of wallpaper too!) When I got to painting around the radiator (which she made me paint light blue too!) I found out that behind the radiator the wall was already painted light blue, and deduced that that was the color before the white paint.
Something similar going on here?

***** SPOILER *****

This is a room in a house which was recently sold. The walls were the tan colour at the time. The new owner decided to repaint the room grey (hence the colour at the western and southwestern edge). When they removed a shelf in order to paint the wall behind it, they saw that it matched the new grey colour perfectly! The owner-before-last had had the exact same taste as the new owner, who had unwittingly merely undone the 'tanning' made by the previous owner!

Congratulations, Acridian, on the solution (and the daughter), and thank you everyone for playing!

Picture puzzles are always a bit hit and miss here, but I hope you found this one diverting.

[Acridian9]

Congratulations, Acridian, on the solution (and the daughter), and thank you everyone for playing!

Well.... she's 21 now, that's why it took me some time to recognize the situation