Aggressive visual field is a field consisting of a great number of identical visual elements, evenly distributed on some surface.



Aggressive visual fields in cities and towns

By its view modern architecture mainly creates aggressive environment in a city. That is appropriate to all multi-stored buildings where a lot of windows are concentrated on a large wall. When looking at a public building from a road or from its opposite side (Fig. 22), we see more than 500 alike windows at a time.

Fig. 22. Typical example of aggressive visual field created by a large number of similar windows on the wall of the building (there are 336 windows shown on the photo) which, by its view resembles "spotted fabric". A human being physically is not able to look at this photo, no aesthetic pleasure is enjoyed (Moscow, the photo taken by the author)

It is extremely unpleasant to look at such surface. That happens by the reason that it is very difficult to merge images received by the right and left eye into a single visual image. The task is enhanced by the fact that more than one window (window size is less than 1 ang.deg.) is covered at a time by an area of clear vision of the retina (2 ang.deg.). Under such conditions the binocular apparatus of the eyes cannot work to the full extent.

In the practice of our urban development there are entire streets representing a continuous chain of aggressive visible fields. In Moscow that is Noviy Arbat, bieng a shining example, consisting of giant "book-houses" on the one side and of towers with "flanges" of balconies on the other one (Fig. 23).

Fig. 23. Buildings of "new architecture" on Noviy Arbat street (Moscow) create large-size aggressive fields harmful for eyes (architect M. Posokhin).

Aggressive environment generated by buildings' view constitutes not only our national calamity. That is a specific feature of the majority of modern cities. In any country one can find examples of such environment. There are a lot in the United States of America (Fig. 24).

On the opposite side of the street "book-houses" quasi clasp a man in their concrete arms, and the eyes found themselves captured prisoners of a giant geometrical structure. It is impossible to look at the "wall-grid", enjoy it for a long time since an eye has nothing to stop at after successive saccade. There no accents available, and an eye cannot physically fix one window among their great number.

Fig. 24.View of the city of Seattle (USA, the photo taken by A. Kotkov). A great number of skyscrapers create aggressive fields of different size and raster pattern with practically no check points for eyes' fixation after saccade.

Looking at the photo of the city of Seattle, one sees that at firsthand. On the face of it, the city prospect seems lofty and unusual. However, one can soon notice that eyes "slide" along the photo to the right and to the left, upwards-downwards failing to find an anchorage for a look. Aggressive fields of various size "hit the eyes" making it impossible to stop at anything. However, there is no need in stops since every building is clear to the full volume at first sight; there is nothing to look at. One may admire the level of builders' technical skill but there is nothing to enjoy.