The psychology of art and the evolution of the conscious brain / Robert L. Solso.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Solso, Robert L., 1933-

Series:

MIT Press/Bradford Books series in cognitive psychology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Consciousness.

Cognition.

Brain--Evolution.

Visual perception.

Art--Psychology.

Physical Description:

xvi, 278 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, [2003]

Summary:

How did the human brain evolve so that art and an appreciation of art could develop? In The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Conscious Brain, Robert Solso describes how a consciousness that evolved for other purposes perceives and creates art. Drawing on his earlier book Cognition and the Visual Arts and ten years of new findings in cognitive research (as well as new ideas in anthropology and art history), Solso shows that consciousness developed gradually, with distinct components that evolved adaptively over time. One of these components is an ability to imagine objects that are not present -- an ability that allows us to create (and perceive) visual art.

Solso describes the neurological, perceptual, and cognitive sequence that occurs when we view art, and the often inexpressible effect that a work of art has on us. He shows that there are two aspects to viewing art: nativistic perception -- the synchronicity of eye and brain that transforms electromagnetic energy into neurochemical codes -- which is "hardwired" into the sensory-cognitive system; and directed perception, which incorporates personal history and knowledge -- the entire set of our expectations and past experiences. Both forms of perception are part of the appreciation of art, and both are products of the evolution of the conscious brain over hundreds of thousands of years. Solso also investigates the related issues of neurological and artistic perception of the human face, the effects of visual illusions, and the use of perspective. The many works of art used as examples are drawn from a wide range of artistic traditions, from ancient Egypt to Africa, China, and the European Renaissance.

Contents:

Nativistic Perception and Directed Perception 2

Nativistic Perception Applied to the Raft 4

Directed Perception Applied to the Raft 5

Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2 8

Rebound 10

Art Meets Science 13

1 Art and the Rise of Consciousness 15

Changes in Science, Changes in Art 18

Traditional Ways of Understanding Art: Psychophysical Dualism 19

Art and Mind: A Unitary View 21

The Evolution of Art and Consciousness 24

The Rise of Consciousness as a Scientific Topic 25

AWAR Eness: The Five Facets of Consciousness 26

From Nucleotides to Newton 36

2 Art and Evolution 39

The "New and Improved" Brain and Technology, Art, Language, and Culture 41

Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons, and Dogs That Can't Hunt 46

The Cognitive "Big Bang" 51

The Cognitive Blueprint 58

Environmental and Dietary Changes 62

Brains and Adaptation 66

The Evolution of the Brain 69

3 Art and Vision 73

Visual AWAR Eness 73

Seeing with Brain and Eye: The Dynamic Properties of Vision 76

The Eye 82

Beautiful Colors 92

From the Eye to the Brain 97

The Visual System and the Perception of Art 99

4 Art and the Brain 107

The Evolution of the Consciously AWARE Brain 108

The Cognitive Big Bang and the Emergence of Art 113

What Brains Do 117

"Raphael's Brain" 129

5 About Face 133

Faces Are Special in Art 140

Domain Specificity and Faces 141

What the Portrait Artist's Brain "Sees" 149

The Face as a Reflection of the "Inner Person" 163

6 Illusions: Sensory, Cognitive, and Artistic 169

Sensory Illusions: Truth or Fiction? 170

Cognitive Illusions: Twisting Truth 172

Visual Illusions 178

Artistic Illusions 184

First-Order Isomorphism and Proto-Isomorphism 194

7 Perspective: The Art of Illusion 197

Seeing a 3D World with a 2D Eye 197

Principles of Depth Perception: Where Is It? 201

Recumbent Figures: Why They Are So Hard to Draw 215

8 Art and Schemata 223

Schemata 223

Visual Dissonance 235

Canonic Representations 240

Representational Art

Abstract Art 248

A Cognitive Neuroscience Theory of Aesthetics 254.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [265]-272) and index.

ISBN:

0262194848

OCLC:

51566295