j n d (Just Noticeable Difference)

Piero Dorazio

1964 · Color aquatint · Drawings and Prints

In experimental psychology, JND (just-noticeable difference) refers to a concept developed by Ernst Heinrich Weber that describes the minimum amount something affecting the senses needs to change in order for a difference to be perceived. Dorazio evokes this refined sense of perception in the subtle tonal shifts of this shimmering composition. Colored lines run diagonally across the surface, producing a latticelike effect; made with just three colors, the palette expands as lines cross. The print illustrates how Dorazio, in his quest to "paint light," synthesized color theories derived from Italian Divisionists and Futurists (such as Giacomo Balla and Gino Severini) with the all-over compositional structure found in the work of New York School artists.

Artist

Piero Dorazio

Date

1964

Medium

Color aquatint

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1965