Art and Perception Series: Modalities of the Visible: Understanding and Sensing Images

Summary: Art and Perception Series Modalities of the Visible: Understanding and Sensing Images April 5, 2008 4:00 p.m. This multidisciplinary series of discussions features prominent artists, art historians, scientists, conservators, and others as they provide a variety of perspectives on the complex process of experiencing art. Discussions explore the ways in which the perception of a single artwork evolves over time, how artists adopt optical and perceptive strategies as a means of influencing a particular sensorial experience, and the impact of recent scientific research and color theory on art and architecture. Understanding and engaging the viewer's senses and the ways in which they relate to the intellect is a common concern in art making today. To what extent is a viewer's intellectual and sensorial response predictable and/or malleable? How have artists and other image makers used this knowledge to create works with lasting impact? In this panel, prominent scholars discuss the psychology of the artistic experience, the ways in which artists have utilized theories of perception throughout history, and how a viewer's visual literacy and artistic enjoyment can be enhanced. Participants include John Hyman, Fellow and Praelector in Philosophy and Editor, The British Journal of Aesthetics, The Queen's College, UK, and Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, psychologist and author of The Art of Seeing. This program is moderated by Leonard Lopate, host of The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC. The Art and Perception Series is made possible by The Dana Foundation.