Event overview
Fifth Whitehead lecture of Spring term 2014
Part-whole relationships constitute a key topic of research in vision science since the early days of Gestalt psychology, over a century ago. They are also fundamental to the experience of visual art. A good deal of what makes an art work visually and aesthetically appealing lies in the way the parts can be integrated into a larger whole. The 'beholder's share' describes the flexible organization of the parts into a coherent Gestalt, a process whose result is the viewer's pleasure and fascination. In addition to a theoretical/conceptual analysis of this notion, recent studies will be used to illustrate this further. Specifically, I will focus on my empirical studies into pictorial relief and shape (e.g., in Picasso's sketches of female nudes and a nude sculpture) and on my recent collaborative projects with contemporary artists (Ruth Loos, Wendy Morris, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven).
BRIEF BIO:
Johan Wagemans is professor of experimental psychology and currently director of the Laboratory of Experimental Psychology at the University of Leuven. His research interests are mainly in so-called mid-level vision (perceptual grouping, figure-ground organization, depth and shape perception) but stretching out to low-level vision (contrast detection and discrimination) and high-level vision (object recognition and categorization), including applications in autism, arts, and sports. He is supervising a long-term research program aimed at reintegrating Gestalt psychology into contemporary vision science and neuroscience (see http://www.gestaltrevision.be). He is chief-editor of Perception, i-Perception and Art & Perception.
www.gold.ac.uk/cccc/whitehead/
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Mar 2014 | 5:00pm - 6:00pm |
Accessibility
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