Perception in Art

13 important questions on Perception in Art

Why are some people good at art?

To make a 3-dimensional representation of an object or scene requires that the artist draw the image as it appears to the eye rather than what they actually perceive

What does art (2-D) depend on?

As illustration demands the 2-D representation of a 3-D image, it relies heavily upon the constructivist cues and clues to denote perspective.

How did Leonardo da Vinci treat perspective?

He treated perspective as a branch of geometry by tracing the images of objects directly onto a sheet of glass
---> he first described the rules by which a 3 dimensional world forms a 2 dimensional image (perspective)
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What got art accuracy up to an impressive standard in during the renaissance?

The invention of the camera obscura - a device used by many artists to understand the laws of perspective. A small opening in a darkened room yields an inverted picture of the scenes outside.

Who was El Greco (1541-1614)?

He was famous for the elongated figures in his paintings - St. Andrew and St Francis.
---> Some Art Historians suggested that El Greco had an astigmatism (a deformation of the eye that causes the images in the eye to be elongated).

What is the El Greco fallacy?

People with astigmatism are not usually aware of the elongated nature of the image in the eye, because their brains take account of it (constancy of perception).

The ability of the brain to produce images in the absence of sensory images in apparent during what?

Dreaming, visual imagery and during hallucinations

Why did Michaelangelo leave many of his paintings and sculptures unfinished?

He believed that the brain's imagination would provide for a more vivd deception of the scene

What was Plato's criticisms of painting?

Painting only portrayed one aspect of an object, whereas in reality one object can produce many different representations

What is a criticism of Egyptian art?

Human figures are shown as anatomical impossibilities. Head, feet and breasts are all shown from the side, but the shoulders are shown in the front view.

• In addition, the size of images of people were determined not by their relative size to other objects, but by their relative importance

What is one possible reason why modern art has an aesthetic appeal?

They are particularly affective stimuli in stimulating neurons in the visual cortex

E.g. Mondrian’s paintings are particularly effective in activating neurons in V4 that are selective for form and colour.

How do artists convey movement in their art?

Artists have used cues that are associated with movement, such as blur, to convey a dynamic aspect to their painting
---> Early pictures convey movement by showing animals frozen in a moving state

What causes retinal displacement?

Saccades
---> There is no coherent motion pattern in images, so we perceive the retinal displacement as movement

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