The Psychology of Visual Art: Eye, Brain and Art

by George Mather

What can art tell us about how the brain works? And what can the brain tell us about how we perceive and create art? Humans have created visual art throughout history and its significance has been an endless source of fascination and debate. Visual art is a product of the human brain, but is art so complex and sophisticated that brain function and evolution are not relevant to our understanding? This book explores the links between visual art and the brain by examining a broad range of issues including: the impact of eye and brain disorders on artistic output; the relevance of Darwinian principles to aesthetics; and the constraints imposed by brain processes on the perception of space, motion and colour in art. Arguments and theories are presented in an accessible manner and general principles are illustrated with specific art examples, helping students to apply their knowledge to new artworks.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Psychology

211 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2013

Reviews

[Cristina Aguilar]

Es un buen libro sobre la ciencia de la percepción. Me ha gustado el enfoque desde la perspectiva neurocientífica. Quizás algún capítulo tiene una perspectiva demasiado generalista. Habría evitado esa mini introducción a la historia del arte, que es muy flojita.

[Jeshurun]

The cover is deceptively attractive, while the innards are overly academic not made for general readers, more for specialists and those interested in the science of art. It's an unnecessarily wordy and over complicated. But I'm fairly sure it's a great book for people who want to spend hours decifering what could take minutes, if written better. It was infuriating. But I know some people who will find it useful.

[Christopher Wells]

Excellent resource for photographers. Needs to be read a couple of times to integrate into the photographic eye.