The human mind is a sense-making machine. Involuntarily, it attempts to find order in chaos, to create a sensical reality from the abstract.

Dmitri Cherniak's "Ringers" is a near transcendent study of this phenomenon. It's the generative art version of lying in the grass watching clouds roll by. On a deeper level, Cherniak presents an interactive demonstration of "aspect perception" which was originally explored by Ludwig Wittgenstein in his work "Philosophical Investigations", where he employed the famous "duck-rabbit" illusion to show how the mind can perceive and interpret the same phenomenon in different ways. Ultimately, as humans we have the power to interpret and then choose how we will perceive. This freedom of choice has incredible implications on our lives.

The duck-rabbit has an emotional counterpart; a seven word sentence.

"What Did I Do To Deserve This?"

The same words can hold a different meaning depending on how they are spoken.

If spoken with humility and gratitude "what did I do to deserve this?" is an acknowledgment of grace; underserved favor borne out of love.

When spoke from a place of inexplicably turmoil and affliction "What did I do to deserve this?" is a search for meaning and causality when there likely is none.

These same seven words, "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?", shouted in arrogance and contempt, become a shallow cry of entitlement.

Everyone finds themselves in the middle space at some point. Life takes a turn we didn't expect. We end up in a place we never wanted to be. Confused and in pain we shout out or whispering quietly, "What did I do to deserve this?". We want the math and physics of it all to work out. We want the numbers to add up, for some equal action to have caused this reaction.

Often, there just isn't an answer. We have to make our own by altering the perspective. There are typically two choices.

We can see the picture through a lens of bitterness and resentment and demand the world re-center itself toward us and pay us our due restitution. When we choose this perspective, we insist on collecting what we are owed, because the answer to the question "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?" is "nothing" and that's not acceptable. This a path to destruction. In bitterness, we create pain for others in an attempt to alleviate our own, yet the pain just keeps coming back on us. We become the Ouroboros, a serpent devouring itself in an infinite loop.

-or-

We can breathe and be grateful for the air that fills our lungs. We can take inventory of all that is good despite the pain and confusion. We can humbly accept the kindness of others, if we're so fortunate to have it. The touch of a loved one, the comfort of a meal, the memory of a better time, the sun on our face, or the simple recognition of a heart still beating in our chest can shift our perspective if we allow it. Even in the midst of sorrow and bewilderment there's a sublime beauty to be found that will humble us into asking "what did i do to deserve this?"

Cherniak's deft an poignant use of yellow in "Ringers" likely was not intended to be a nod to Robert Frost's curious use of the same color when he began "The Road Not Taken" with the line "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...", but to believe that it is cuts to the spirit of art, perception and human choice.

It's a duck, a rabbit, a penguin, a goose. It's a thoughtful and insightful ode to Cherniak. It's just another addition to the heap of derivative garbage. It's a thought-provoking essay about the power of art and perception. It's a gauche and self-aware over explanation. The image is the art. The essay is the art. The pixels and words will become to us what we choose to perceive, just as life becomes what we choose to perceive.