Beneath the Paint: A Visual Journey through Conceptual Metaphor Violation

Metaphors are an undeniable part of many forms of art and they hint at the underlying conceptualisation that takes place in the silent conversation between an art piece and its perceiver. Abstract art, in particular, requires the viewer not only to analyse the colour palette and the shapes of the strokes but to subconsciously react to the underlying structures that often define the metaphors. After introducing a few cognitive theories involved in perception and knowledge transfer the paper introduces the reader to the painting “Beneath the Paint”. It is an abstract acrylic painting that plays on the two conceptual metaphor structures ‘UP is GOOD’ and ‘DARK is BAD’ and by presenting them in contradiction force the viewer to subconsciously choose its primary conceptualisation.