The Rorschach Inkblot test

The Rorschach Inkblot test is a popular test created by the swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach. The test featured ten inkblots, which the subject would have to look at and describe what they saw. Although the test was originally meant to help diagnose schizophrenia, it became a popular belief that your answers would reveal things about you. As an overall, the test is unreliable, since previous exposure to the blots could impact how you react.

Clearly these inkblots weren't made with art in mind. However, I think that the test is important to consider when thinking about abstract art - after all, the inkblots are pretty abstract. It shows that, depending on various factors (who you are, which area you focus on, which way round the blot is, etc), you're likely to interpret things differently to others. This, in my opinion, is important to think about when it comes too all art, especially abstract. Different people will find their own meanings within an image, so long as it's not already been explained to them.

I wanted to give the ink blotting a try - the shapes that result are always unique. I tested out a couple of different ideas, using more paint on some, thicker paint on others, and even writing in paint before turning it into a blot. It's incredibly easy to do - I just had to create my design in a liquid medium (paint, in my case, though you could use ink or similar mediums) and then fold the paper in half.

My first two designs came from "abstract paint" - I didn't create any sort of design to start with, it was just random dots and splodges of paint. I prefer the one that I used less paint on (the one on the bottom right of the sketchbook) as it has more of the colour variation within the blot, which helps it resemble the original ones.

The other two black designs were based upon my name. I used the paint bottle to write out "Emily" and "Owens" pretty loosely (to the point it wasn't really readable, but the intention was there!) before I squashed it with another bit of paper. When I peeled them apart, I had two versions of the same design, one of which being the flipped / reflected version. With the first two, it was simply one name or the other, using the same black paint as before. Since I used more paint, the shapes came out a solid colour, and they entirely distorted to the point it's not recognisable. 

The red and peach one was created using a similar technique, but with a few changes. The most obvious one is the introduction of colour. I switched medium to acrylic paint, rather than the cheap black paint I had been using. To create this one, I wrote my names using the tubes, with each name on a separate sheet of paper. I then squashed them together, like before, and when I peeled them apart, that was the result. I find the look of it really interesting, as each name abstracts the other, while still being somewhat recognisable if you know what you're looking for. Had I used a bit more paint, I think that it would've been further abstracted, taking on the "blobbier" shapes that the others had.

All in all, it was a fun little experiment that was pretty quick to do. It'd be interesting to further explore the types of blots that could be made if you continue to switch up the amount of medium, or what you're using, or even where you fold the paper.