Principles Of Visual Perception

156 Pages·1990·46.916 MB·English

by  Carolyn M. Bloomer

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
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1 VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD COMPANY
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New York Cincinnati Toronto London Melbourne
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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.