Principles Of Visual Perception PDF
Preview Principles Of Visual Perception
This book bridges the gap between psycholog- ical research and art theory by interweaving the findings of both fields into an explanation of visual perception that is both lucid and read- able. It confronts the problem of how we con- struct meaning from the visual experience; what happens when we look at a painting or sculpture; what processes of eye and brain lead us to perceive the work In a particular way? Comprehensive chapters on the eye, the brain, space, depth and distance, motion, and color explore the researches of psychology and the sensibility of everyday experience to discover how each aspect of perception affects our total organization of meaning. Cultural conditioning of vision is shown in historical and contemporary art and in the art of both eastern and western traditions. The author challenges the commonly held belief that the process of seeing is objective and unlearned and makes a careful case for the need to transcend our habits of vision If we are to ex- pand and enrich our personal relationship to the visual world. Meaning in art is seen as an outgrowth of an artist’s structuring of perception, and the finished artwork as a matrix of meaning which , unites artist and viewer through the channels of perception. If art today seems increasingly irrelevant for many people, it Is because these fundamentals of human perception have been almost totally neglected in school curricula and rarely taught in art classes. But teachers and students, artists and viewers alike will find In this book meaningful and practical applica- tions of perceptual theory—a result of the author’s extensive experience with the prob- lems of both making and teaching art. The book is fully illustrated with a wide assortment of drawings and plates. Projects for each chapter are suggested at the end of the book, and an extensive bibliography and complete index are included. A VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD BOOK Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/principlesofvisuOOcaro :/0f pace wo 1 VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD COMPANY n I lii New York Cincinnati Toronto London Melbourne _J To Douglas G. Christie For contributing in special waystothewriting of this book I wish to thank Charles W. Avery, Carole Ann and to the students at Parish Hill Bauer, Beth Beede, Richard Bloomer, Doris Davis, this book is lovingly dedicated. Janet Erickson, the Hartford Art School, l-Hsiung Ju, Lynn E. Stauffer, Jr., Wendy Lochner, and Nancy Newman Green. Copyright © 1976 by Litton Educational Publishing, Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 74-27757 ISBN 0-442-20825-1 All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means- graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems— without written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Designed by Loudan Enterprises Published in 1976 by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company A Division of Litton Educational Publishing, Inc. 450 West 33rd Street New York, N.Y. 10001 Van Nostrand Reinhold Limited 1410 Birchmount Road Scarborough, Ontario M1P 2E7, Canada Van Nostrand Reinhold Australia Pty. Ltd. 17 Queen Street Mitcham, Victoria 3132, Australia Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Ltd. Molly Millars Lane Wokingham, Berkshire, England 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Bloomer, Carolyn. Visual perception. Bibliography: p. Includes index. SUMMARY: Surveys the principles of visual perception based on psychological research and everyday experience, and how they are related to the perception of art in particular. 1. Visual perception. 2. Composition (Art) 3. Optical illusions. [1. Visual perception. 2. Optical illusions. 3. Art appreciation] I. Title. BF241.B57 1976 152.1'4 74-27757 ISBN 0-442-20825-1 Introduction 7 1. Meaning: The First Step in Understanding Your Mind 9 2. Vision: In the Eye of the Beholder 19 3. The Brain: It Figures 32 4. Constancy: No Matter What Happens, You’ll Always Be the Same to Me 50 5. Space: The Daily Odyssey 64 6. Depth and Distance: The “I” as a Camera 80 7. Motion: The Moving Picture 94 8. Color: It’s All Relative 108 9. The Implications: Getting It Together 122 10. Getting Involved 134 Bibliography 142 Footnotes 146 Index 147 See figure 3-17.
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