This is how your perception shapes reality

Life at the edge of the quantum-classical divide

Note: this was a public lecture to open the DUALITY exhibition, showcasing winners of a quantum art competition.

A painting is just a surface of woven fiber that has absorbed a mixture of resin, solvent, and additives. Different parts of the surface have different additives, called pigments, that absorb specific wavelengths of light and scatter others. Occasionally, a member of the species homo sapiens perceives this scattered light and calls it art. The difference between this art and the stained canvas fiber is what is known as the beholder’s share.

While the idea dates back to the writings of early 20th-century art historians, it was Marcel Duchamp who dared to quantify it, saying that an artist only completes 50% of the work. The remaining 50% is done by the perceiver. Trying to quantify it exactly is a bit silly, of course, but the point remains — art is a collaboration between the artist and the beholder.

An artwork is not a fixed entity with a singular meaning — rather, it is completed by the perception and interpretation of its viewer. This…