Animal Influence I - Antennae The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture

Lisa Jevbratt
Dichromat simulations, 2011 Jevbratt
see reds as a brighter yellowish brown than other
animals, and animals whose cone is more sensitive
to green will see it lighter than others. The variations
are small, and while there seems to be little
scientific interest in the reasons for the
differences,[13] as an art endeavor, it seems
interesting and fruitful to explore them. Often poetry
and meaning is found in the barely noticeable, in
whispers. What might these little variations tell us
about the Umwelts of different species? One could
note that the colors most often found in an natural
environment, like greens, grays, and browns, will not
be seen in a very different way; while more artificial
colors, like orange, cyan, magenta, red, will
generate a more significant difference. What does
it mean that when we introduce colors into an
animal’s Umwelt that they are not used to
interpreting, they see very differently from other
animals around them who share the same niche?
To help the audience experience these minute
differences, the iPhone/iPad app listing of species
also functions as a visualization of how all the
82
species might see one color at a time. Clicking the
colored indicator in the top right corner changes
the color. In addition, species can be set to be
favorites and navigated by swiping the screen,
allowing one simulation to be instantaneously
replaced and compared to another.
Seeing fewer colors does not mean seeing
less. Running our monochromatic and dichromatic
algorithms on reversed colorblind test images[14]
reveals how many other species might see things
where we see just a blur. In fact, some research
suggests that dichromacy might be advantageous
for some kinds of foraging. But even if
monochromats and dichromats can sometimes
see more, they are manageable to simulate
because computers have the capacity for that,
and we can experience their limited color
spectrum. However, the intention with Zoomorph is
to also tackle forms of vision that are supersets,
rather than a subset, of human vision. Most fish,
crustaceans, insects, spiders and birds have more
color receptors than us. Many are tetrachromats,