To me, it really is quite simple.
Perception always supplants reality. Occasionally, the two are one in the same. More commonplace, however, is the struggle between "what is" and "what the eye and the mind choose to see."
From carvings, to sketches, to paintings, to photographs, to feature-length films, humans always have been greatly influenced by their visual perception. Both as a pastime and as a livelihood, the manipulation of others' visual perception has been around as long as man.
Simplifying the world around us to a single frame—an absolute moment in time—allows others to see life just as the photographer saw it through his or her lens. Bombarding the eye with a series of frames that simulate motion takes this concept to the next level.
What is near? What is far? What is attention-grabbing? What is subtle, but powerful? What is in focus? What is out of focus? Regardless of the artist's effort, the answers to these questions still vary from person to person.
Indeed, the beauty in manipulating others' visual perception is that even in failing to generate the same reaction, the artist is able to succeed. Success is not defined by the reaction. Success is the mere existence of a reaction at all.
