Objectivity and illusions in Rudolf Arnheim's book "Art and Visual Perception"

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

How objectively do we perceive the surrounding reality? Does the image of our world match the picture seen by others? What or who influences the kaleidoscope of our visual impressions? Research by Rudolf Arnheim "Art and Visual Perception" is a full-scale scientific work that helps to understand the mechanisms and algorithms of visual perception.

The visual world today

In the modern world, communication and information exchange is increasingly moving into the media space, and the phrase "clip thinking" has become commonplace - all this has led to the fact that the status of visual assessment in the overall structure of human perception processes has changed. Interest in the features and regularities of the channel of perceptual cognition of the world is fueled by the emergence of new professions and lines of business. SEO-managers, SMM-managers, targetologists, Internet marketers, bloggers - everyone wants to understand howcreate visual content that affects the audience and understand what happens when a person views your layout, sees your project. And this means that the relevance and demand for the works of Rudolf Arnheim is not decreasing.

How it all started

In various directions of classical psychology, the process of perception was considered in all aspects and manifestations. It was visual perception that was studied in the most detail by adherents of Gest alt psychology. Max Wertheimer, Kurt Lewin, Wolfgang Köhler explained in their works how people manage to comprehend and interpret the chaos that we call the surrounding world. The main postulate of the Gest altists is that the whole is not equal to the sum of its parts, but is much greater than its components. By processing the information received through the visual channel, our brain generates illusions and creates its own constantly changing worlds, which confirms the dynamism of perception. The examples of optical or visual illusions that are often found on the Internet and provoke heated debates and discussions are just the tip of the iceberg in the ocean of visual images perceived by our brain. The revealed patterns were formulated in the basic principles of Gest alt psychology:

• law of proximity;
• law of similarity;
• law of completion;
• law of continuity;
• figure-background.

Knowing and being able to apply these laws, professionals can predict the impact of visual information on the audience, create a working interface.

Psychology of Art

Rudolf Arnheim, being a student of M. Wertheimer and a follower of the Gest alt trend in psychology, focused his research in such an area as art and artistic perception. For more than half a century, since the 30s of the twentieth century, his work has attracted the attention of art critics, aesthetics and art theorists. Of particular note is the criticism of modernist art, for example, such movements as formalism, abstractionism and surrealism. This is a rare occurrence in Western works of art theory, as is the opposition of one's own vision to Freudian aesthetics. A large amount of empirical data collected in many years of experiments became the basis of Rudolf Arnheim's most popular book "Art and Visual Perception", where his views on fine art are presented in the most complete way.

The psychology of the creative eye

The second title of the book metaphorically explains the main message of the author. Visual perception is not a mechanical registration of sensory elements - it is a "grasping of reality", insightful and inventive. Reading the work of Rudolf Arnheim "Art and Visual Perception", you understand that:

1. The history of the development of art tells not only about social and cultural changes and technological advances, but rather about the development of the human brain.
2. Physiology is often the basis of our appreciation of works of art.
3. The surrounding visual images have on usinfluence no less than the laws of physics.
4. The artistic development of children is as important as the study of mathematics and literature.

Visual model

Any visual model is dynamic. This most elementary property actually turns out to be the most significant component of a work of art: if a sculpture or painting does not express the dynamics of tension, it cannot accurately represent our life.

Rudolf Arnheim's book "Art and Visual Perception" makes it clear how to achieve the necessary dynamics of tension in a work of art. The structure of the text and the table of contents are presented in such a way that any art object or "model with visual boundaries" can be analyzed in terms of elements that create a holistic image:

1. Balance: right and left sides, the weight of the elements, balance and the human mind.
2. Style: simplicity of stimulus, simplicity of meaning.
3. Form: the dichotomy of form and content.
4. Development: baby drawing, drawing stages.
5. Space: figure and background, laws of perspective, boundaries of the model and depicted space, distortion conditions.
6. Light: brightness, shadow, glow, ways of depicting lighting.
7. Color: responses to color, appearance and expression of color.
8. Movement: what is the difference between the feeling of events and the feeling of things, compositional "arrow".
9. Expressiveness: the main content of perception, the top of the pyramid of perceptual categories.

Reader comments

The work of Rudolf Arnheim "Art and Visual Perception" has won different reviews among readers interested in this study, but opinions agree on one thing - it is a must read for everyone whose professional activity is connected with visual images. As you start reading, remember that this is not a "set of life hacks on how to make a designer's life easier" or a checklist for creating a banner. This is a fundamental work that gives an understanding of the features and principles of perception.