How objectively do we perceive the surrounding reality? Does the image of our world coincide with the picture seen by others? What or who influences the kaleidoscope of our visual impressions? Rudolf Arnheim's research, “Art and Visual Perception,” is a full-scale scientific work that helps to understand the mechanisms and algorithms of visual perception.
Visual world today
In the modern world, communication and information exchange is increasingly moving to 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 general structure of human perception processes has changed. Interest in the features and patterns of the channel of perceptual knowledge of the world is fueled by the emergence of new professions and areas of business. SEO managers, SMM managers, targetologists, internet marketers, bloggers - everyone wants to figure out how to create 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 relevance of the works of Rudolf Arnheim is not reduced.
How it all started
In various areas of classical psychology, the process of perception was considered in all aspects and manifestations. The most detailed visual perception was studied by adherents of gestalt psychology. Max Wertheimer, Kurt Levin, Wolfgang Köhler in their works explained how people manage to comprehend and interpret the chaos that we call the world around us. The basic postulate of the Gestaltists is that the whole is not equal to the sum of the parts, but much more than its components. 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. Examples of optical or visual illusions that are often found on the Internet and provoke heated debate and discussion 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 gestalt psychology:
- law of proximity;
- law of similarity;
- law of completion;
- law of continuity;
- figure background.
Knowing and knowing how 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 Gestalt direction in psychology, focused his research in such areas as art and artistic perception. For more than half a century, starting from the 30s of the twentieth century, his works have attracted the attention of art historians, aesthetics and art theorists. Of particular note is the critic of modernist art, for example, such trends as formalism, abstractionism and surrealism. This is a rare occurrence in Western works on the theory of art, as well as the juxtaposition of one’s own vision of Freudian aesthetics. The large amount of empirical data collected in many years of experiments has become the basis of the most popular book by Rudolf Arnheim, “Art and Visual Perception,” where his views on visual art are presented most fully.
"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 recording of sensory elements — it is a “grasp of reality”, insightful and inventive. Reading the work of Rudolf Arnheim "Art and Visual Perception", you understand that:
- 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.
- Physiology is often at the heart of our assessments of fiction.
- The surrounding visual images influence us no less than the laws of physics.
- 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, they cannot reliably reflect 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 that has visual boundaries” can be analyzed from the point of view of elements creating an integrated image:
- Balance: the right and left sides, the weight of the elements, balance and the human mind.
- Outline: simplicity of the stimulus, simplicity of meaning.
- Form: dichotomy of form and content.
- Development: children's drawing, drawing stages.
- Space: figure and background, laws of perspective, boundaries of the model and image space, distortion conditions.
- Light: brightness, shadow, glow, lighting image methods.
- Color: reactions to color, appearance and expressiveness of color.
- Movement: what is the difference between the sensation of events and the sensation of things, compositional "arrow".
- Expressiveness: the main content of perception, the top of the pyramid of perceptual categories.
Reader Comments
The work of Rudolf Arnheim's “Art and Visual Perception” received different reviews among readers interested in this study, but they agree on one thing - it’s mandatory to read to everyone whose professional activity is connected with visual images. Starting to read, remember that this is not a “set of life hacks on how to make a designer’s life easier” and not a checklist for creating a banner. This is a fundamental work, giving an understanding of the features and principles of perception.