perception and sense in art and space
In the Gestalt school of psychological thought, the mind and brain condense environmental stimuli so that they may be seen in their simplest form. The idea is that the whole — that which is seen– is of greater value than the processing of each individual part. This theorem can reach beyond basic perception and Steve Prince’s The Links work gives us an example of the Gestalt as art form.
We went to the Louvre during our trip to Europe this past summer. While it had been a while since our last visit, some things hadn’t changed Continue reading “Mosh pit Mona”
Abstract art is the kind of experience that challenges a viewer to find words to describe. Minimalism, the art movement based on simple forms, may pose the starkest of these challenges. Continue reading “Bringing narrative to minimalism: A big thank you to Herb and Dorothy Vogel”
The Hirshorn Museum (Smithsonian’s modern art building) presented another wow exhibit, one that gave enough material for long-lasting, multi-level reflection. RAFAEL LOZANO-HEMMER: PULSE (November 1, 2018 – April 28, 2019) engaged the observer in a way that is as much peculiar as it is tantalizing. Continue reading “Hirshorn’s “Pulse”: Experiencing the heartbeat of karma”
Everyone’s got a story. And, in “The Secret Lives of Color”, Kassia St. Clair gives colors with names befitting those delightful paint squares their autobiographical due. There’s White with some of its cousins including Lead White, Ivory, Silver, Whitewash, Isabelline, Chalk, Beige and Red with its associates Scarlet, Cochineal, Vermillion, Rossa corsa, Hematite, Madder, and Dragon’s blood for example.
J.J. Gibson outlined a radical approach to optics in his 1979 book The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. In order to perceive the structure of space, we need just one thing: light. Continue reading “Gibsonian optics brought to life in the sculpture of Fred Eversley”
Tasked with painting a still life composed of boxes and bottles in shades of white and black, with oil paints in shades of white and black, it’s easy for a scientist like me to think about the usual suspects of depth cues as a path to success. After all, if depth cues are what we use to interpret the environment, then using them should translate to a successful painting, paint skill notwithstanding. Continue reading “Depth cues are psychological constructs (we cannot rely upon when painting still life).”
