I am now confident that I can make intelligent comments to high society folk at any art gallery. And I'll do it in a way unlike they've heard before.
My natural attraction to the arts left me searching for answers beyond artistic techniques. As much as I thought it was impressive how impressionist painters could portray a scene using thick brushstrokes, I wanted to know what was going on in my head when I looked at it. As a current undergraduate neuroscience student, I was drawn towards the ability of the subject to explain everyday phenomena. I chose this book hoping to come closer to discover why I thought a painting was good from a biological rather than emotional standpoint. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning things such as: why your brain perceives Claude Monet's rivers to flow or how Leonardo da Vinci's two dimensional paintings seem to appear in three dimensions.
Delivery:
Margaret Livingstone, a professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, successfully articulates her research on visual systems on a level that can appeal to a broad audience. Her approach to communicate her research through the blend of art and science is an effective method. Although it helps to have some exposure to entry level physiology, all that is necessary to enjoy this novel is an interest in the subject. More complex technical information is easily digested with the help of the examples of famous artworks and real world phenomena that follow it. However, I am surprised that this novel did not highlight any sculptural art examples. Dr. Livingstone's tone along with suggested exercises and optical illusions promotes reader participation. The abundant photos and figures are especially effective due to the quality of the high gloss print, a necessary feature as the argument's effectiveness often relies on the ability of the reader to participate in the viewing. This book will fit nicely on a bookshelf along with science textbooks or on a coffee table next casual browsing.
Overview of Content:
The information is structured in a way so that it gives you all the basics in the beginning so that you can apply your knowledge at the end. This methodology promotes information processing and allows the reader to recall the information they learned in the beginning of the book when they get to the end. Since visual processing starts with light, so does this book. The progression to how we now understand light's source and its nature is highlighted by the reflections of recognizable, historical figures such as Aristotle, Newton, and Einstein. The wavelengths of colored light are discussed in terms of various oil paints, which is helpful in setting the stage for the analysis of art. The subtle differences in wavelengths between colors are particularly interesting, most notably the difference between violet and purple. These discoveries are related to the capabilities of man by outlying the structures and major functions of the eye. The physiology is easy to comprehend and includes valuable insights such as the dual dependency of cones to process both the wavelength and intensity of light. Simplified diagrams of the internals of the eye, brain, and neurons aid readers from non-science backgrounds. Visual acuity and spatial relation is also addressed using the most popular example in the book: determining the reasons for the oddities in Mona Lisa's smile. "I realized that her smile seemed most apparent and cheerful when I was looking away from it, and it seemed less evident when I looked directly at it (p. 71)." I won't give away the reasoning behind this, but Dr. Livingstone paints a clear picture of why this is so.
The most important discussion in the book is how light is processed by the `Where' and `What' Systems. First, color and luminance are defined using examples where either color or luminance is removed to allow a person to focus on each entity separately. This also correlates to how each of these factors is analyzed by different parts of the visual system. Dr. Livingstone's explanations of theses systems made it is easy to understand how evolutionary necessities shaped the way we process information. Optical illusions aid in our discovery of how the primitive, colorblind `Where' system is responsible for positioning and the `What' system's color opponent cell model is used to see color using an objects border. Examples of artwork highlight the `Where' system's ability to detect detailed luminance and the `What' system's ability to identify what we're looking at.
The later stages of the book drive home the main points of the novel through its application in viewing art. The techniques of impressionism and pointillism utilize an understanding of how the visual system works to create depth, motion, and effective use of color. Claude Monet, Leonardo da Vinci, Auguste Renoir, and Vincent van Gogh are just a few recognizable artists whose works are featured based on their aesthetic appeal to the visual system. The book concludes with how factors effecting vision are used in the present day such as use of visual techniques in advertising and the relation of television to the functions of the eye.
Overall:
This work is a very interesting revelation of the powerful and sometimes finicky nature of the brain's perception of the world through sight. Although heavily technical in some aspects, the average reader can skim the more grueling portions and understand the main point the author is trying to convey by looking at breathtaking works of art and the captions beneath it. Scientists and artists alike can benefit from Margaret Livingstone's powerful insights. I would recommend that anyone who enjoys viewing or creating art, especially the frequent gallery visitor, that is looking for a deeper understanding of how we perceive it biologically, to pick up this book.
My Favorite Explanations:
- Why the snow looks blue in the shade?
- The evolution of luminance in art especially Leonardo da Vinci's success
- How Claude Monet creates motion in art?
- Why certain text can appear jittery?
- Color mixing and its relation to the receptive field
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jennywithtoomanybooks
Beautiful and revelatory book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 1, 2012
