Customer Reviews

Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye, The New Version, Second edition, Revised and Enlarged

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rudolf Arnheim is one of those rare and exceptional thinkers gifted in both the arts and science, in this case the science of psychology. This book is about the relation between psychology and art. Its value will be immediately recognized by artists, as well as by those who are interested in how the mind makes sense of the visual world. But the most interesting and valuable aspect of this book is its implications for psychology. The Gestalt theory on which Arnheim's approach is based is a minority view in contemporary psychology, but it is a theoretical viewpoint that is destined for a renaissance. For Gestalt theory recognizes the holistic, emergent aspects of perception, which are so difficult to account for in terms of contemporary neuroscience, but are so clearly evident in the laws of artistic composition. Although this book was originally published in 1954, I believe it is only a matter of time before it receives the recognition it deserves as an invaluable contribution to psychology, as soon as psychology has the wisdom to recognize it as such.

Rudolf Arnheim is one of those rare and exceptional thinkers gifted in both the arts and science, in this case the science of psychology. This book is about the relation between psychology and art. Its value will be immediately recognized by artists, as well as by those who are interested in how the mind makes sense of the visual world. But the most interesting and valuable aspect of this book is its implications for psychology. The Gestalt theory on which Arnheim's approach is based is a minority view in contemporary psychology, but it is a theoretical viewpoint that is destined for a renaissance. For Gestalt theory recognizes the holistic, emergent aspects of perception, which are so difficult to account for in terms of contemporary neuroscience, but are so clearly evident in the laws of artistic composition. Although this book was originally published in 1954, I believe it is only a matter of time before it receives the recognition it deserves as an invaluable contribution to psychology, as soon as psychology has the wisdom to recognize it as such.

If you want to learn why the things are seen in the way they are seen or want to control the look of your objects to build up as a concrete whole, wheter in a motion picture, a paint, a photograph, architecture, sculpture, a graphical design piece, or more strictly speaking, if you ever asked yourself what is a line, what makes a triangle more interesting than a square, why my piece of design looks unstable, and start to think that you are going mad :) this is the decisive beginning for understanding visual communication... Must be bought together with "The Power of the Center" for a complete look... Basics of geometry, psychology, philosophy and history of art are required...

This book was purchased as a text for school- I don't believe I would be inclined to pick this one off the shelves and purchase it on my own for pleasure after some perusing. Arnheim has revised this text over the years, and this final version (according to him in the preface) is much more comprehensive. I would say that is a classic understatement by him. His style reminds me more of undergraduate psychology texts I had read. Dense, not a lot of pictures, and a lot of philosophical concepts on the nature of art. However, like all things, rewarding in the depth available in the text. Just don't try to digest it all at once, and don't be distracted. If you are, you'll find yourself reading passages over again.

It articulates the way we look at art both obvious and non-obvious. Related to optical illusions and our vision. Good book for both artists and non-artists to analyse why we see things the way we do without going too much into the neurological part of it.

Good book, but I was expecting more images with description of contents rather than general theory.

This book is a treasure for all artists, and architects.It is a good book with many illustrations and analysis. If You need to know how to deal with forms, shapes, and their parameters as a professional, this is the right book to buy. Sometimes I think that it is too late to read again about form,but Arnhiem's book is not only about form perception it is about life experience in how to read things in scientific and detailed approach.

Arnheim's book on the creative eye has survived well over half a century, for a reason. This is a truly seminal work on "seeing" and composing artistic images. He deals primarily with painting. I am a photographer. This book means as much to the current photographer with digital camera as to the artist with easel canvas and brush. Fascinating reading illustrated with classic examples. Re-shapes the mind. I bought copies for all of my friends who are, like me, serious shooters.

Wonderful book, great presentation of the subject, superb idea of explaining the image from psychology point of view.

It really helped me understand better the way I see the world and how I could improve my seeing (photographical speaking) skills.

It's a little bit too long, but if you have the time and availability, it worth every page.

The problem that I have with this book is that there are so many other books out there that are so much better in terms of describing art concepts and perception concepts. This book has had its run. Cognitive science, studies of synesthesia, the amygdala, you name it, have progressed far beyond the scope of this book. As an artist of thirty years who is on the lookout for books to consider as textbooks for my teaching, I would feel like a sadist making my students read this.

Arnheim meanders in a sort of stream-of-consciousness style of writing. He may be entertaining to some, but I find him hard to follow and his points moot. Also, the illustrations are, beyond the artwork reproductions, pretty bad. A much better illustrator could have been hired to do them.

I find his choice of topics to convey his message to have such a personal feel that I am left thinking that it wouldn't be the best choice for art students to learn either their craft or history. And, as I said earlier, there are much better books available. If this book at least touched on contemporary scientific theories, I could give it more stars. As is, it probably ran out of steam thirty years ago.