The Artful Eye
Published on 16. November 1995
Book
Hardback
456 pages
978-0-19-852195-2 (ISBN)
Description
In the words of Richard Gregory `Here are to be found novel links to art and science, and to mind and brain... These many themes are captured to weave a tapestry of the intelligent brain behind the artful eye.'
This fascinating volume presents the thoughts of scientists and artists working on many aspects of visual perception, ranging from the physiology of the brain, development of sight in infants, and the significance of faces, to the physics of images and the mathematics of impossible objects. There are essays on perspective, especially of Vermeer's use of the camera oscura, alongside an examination of the art of the forger, portraits of artists and scientists, and a personal statement by the late sculptress, Dame Elisabeth Frink.
Complete with over 200 illustrations, including colour plates by Hockney, Magritte, Vermeer, and others, this is a an enlightening mixture of biology and aesthetics which will appeal to psychologists, vision scientists, and all those interested in the effect of the visual arts on the eye and brain.
This fascinating volume presents the thoughts of scientists and artists working on many aspects of visual perception, ranging from the physiology of the brain, development of sight in infants, and the significance of faces, to the physics of images and the mathematics of impossible objects. There are essays on perspective, especially of Vermeer's use of the camera oscura, alongside an examination of the art of the forger, portraits of artists and scientists, and a personal statement by the late sculptress, Dame Elisabeth Frink.
Complete with over 200 illustrations, including colour plates by Hockney, Magritte, Vermeer, and others, this is a an enlightening mixture of biology and aesthetics which will appeal to psychologists, vision scientists, and all those interested in the effect of the visual arts on the eye and brain.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
colour plates, halftones, and line figures throughout
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 196 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
1310 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-852195-2 (9780198521952)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Professor R. L Gregory, who edited The Oxford Companion to the Mind (OUP, 1987), is at the Department of Psycology, Bristol University. Dr J. Harris and Dr P. Heard are both at that same establishment, while Dr D. Rose is at the Department of Psychology, Surrey University.
Content
PART I: INTO THE BRAIN ; Introduction ; 1. Black boxes of artful vision ; 2. A portrait of the brain ; 3. Through the eyes of monkeys and men ; 4. The brain of the beholder ; 5. When is a face not a face? ; 6. When paying attention is too costly ; PART II: STARTING TO SEE ; Introduction ; 7. Through the eyes of an infant ; 8. Mother and baby - seeing eye to eye ; PART III: BEHIND THE EYES ; Introduction ; 9. The many faces of motion perception ; 10. At the edge of movement ; 11. 2-D or not 2-D - that is the question ; 12. Seeing colour ; PART IV: PHYSIC ; Introduction ; 13. Chemical dreams ; 14. Chemical soup ; PART V: PHYSICS ; Introduction ; 15. Natural focussing ; 16. Mathematics of the impossible ; PART VI: ARTISTRY ; Introduction ; 17. Lines of sight ; 18. In the studio of Vermeer ; 19. How do forgers deceive art critics? ; 20. Portraits of artists and scientists