on the balance between order and complexity in...
TRANSCRIPT
ON THE BALANCE BETWEEN ORDER AND COMPLEXITY IN AESTHETICS
JOHAN WAGEMANS
LABORATORY OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF LEUVEN, BELGIUM
“VISUAL PROPERTIES DRIVING VISUAL AESTHETICS” WORKSHOP
LIVERPOOL, 14 JANUARY 2015
Overview
• Classic theories of aesthetics
– focus on balance and order
• Predictive coding
• Applications
CLASSIC THEORIES OF AESTHETICS
Experimental psycho-aesthetics
• “aesthetics” – ability to receive stimulation from
one or more of the five bodily senses
– Alexander Gottlieb BAUMGARTEN (1714-1762)
taste or sense of beauty based on
feelings of pleasure or displeasure,
as opposed to judgment based on
the intellect
• “experimental psycho-aesthetics” – scientific discipline devoted to the understanding
of the factors that determine aesthetic appreciation
– origin: “Vorschule der Aesthetik” (1876)
by Gustav Theodor FECHNER (1801-1887)
Experimental psycho-aesthetics
• centuries of philosophical speculations about principles determining aesthetic appreciation
– Plato: proportion, harmony, unity among parts
– Aristotle: order, symmetry, definiteness
– Thomas Aguinas: integrity of perfection, clarity of form
– Leibniz: perfection = harmony = unity within variety
“De gustibus non est disputandum”
• Fechner
– proposes formal laws of beauty that can be tested experimentally
• golden section
Experimental psycho-aesthetics
• Later work
– Birkhoff (1932): M = O / C
• aesthetic measure defined by ratio of order and complexity
• tested empirically in polygons
– C = number of sides
– O = degree of symmetry
– preference for shapes that are both O and C
– Eysenck (1942): M = O x C
Rudolf Arnheim (1904-2007)
1954/1974: Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye. Berkeley: University of California Press.
1969: Visual Thinking. Berkeley: University of California Press.
1982/1988: The Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Aesthetics and psychobiology
• Daniel Berlyne (1971) “Aesthetics and psychobiology”
– exploratory behavior and curiosity
– optimal stimulation level
– aesthetic preference (and hedonic value) determined by average arousal potential
Aesthetics and psychobiology
• Daniel Berlyne (1971) “Aesthetics and psychobiology”
– exploratory behavior and curiosity
– optimal stimulation level
– aesthetic preference (and hedonic value) determined by average arousal potential
– not too simple, not too complex
– sufficient order is needed when complex
Aesthetics and psychobiology
• Daniel Berlyne (1971) “Aesthetics and psychobiology”
– exploratory behavior and curiosity
– optimal stimulation level
– aesthetic preference (and hedonic value) determined by average arousal potential
– not too simple, not too complex
– moderately familiar
• MAYA principle in design (“most advanced yet acceptable”)
PREDICTIVE CODING ACCOUNT
Introduction
• References – Van de Cruys, S., & Wagemans, J. (2011). Gestalts as
predictions: Some reflections and an application to art. Gestalt Theory, 33, 325-344.
– Van de Cruys, S., & Wagemans, J. (2011). Putting reward in art: A tentative prediction error account of visual art. i-Perception (special issue on Art & Perception), 2, 1035-1062. doi:10.1068/i0466aap.
• General idea: – predictive coding in general
– predictive coding applied to aesthetics • aesthetic pleasure (reward) =
succesful resolution of prediction error
Computer rendition of “Fragment 6/9” by Bridget Riley (Neil Dodgson, 2009)
Gustav Klimt “Reclining Woman” (1914-17)
Edvard Munch “Separation” (1896)
Vincent van Gogh “The Olive Trees” (1889)
René Magritte “Blanc Seing” (1965)
APPLICATIONS
1. Ursus Wehrli
• Swiss comedian and artist
• http://www.kunstaufraeumen.ch/en
• Tidying Up Art (2002, 2004)
• The Art of Clean Up (2011)
Tidying Up Art
• Very simple idea
• Exploited in a creative, enjoyable way
• Gradually pushed further
Paul Klee “Farbtafel” (1930)
René Magritte “Golconda” (1953)
Joan Miro “The Gold of the Azure” (1967)
Pablo Picasso “The Red Armchair” (1931)
Vincent Van Gogh “Bedroom in Arles” (1888)
Pieter Bruegel (The Elder) “The battle between carnival and lent” (1559)
Georges Seurat “Les Poseuses” (1887-88)
The Art of Clean Up
• Very simple idea
• Exploited in a creative, enjoyable way
• Pushed even further
– “cleaning up” other stuff becomes “art” in itself
Things organized neatly
• http://thingsorganizedneatly.tumblr.com/
2. Michael Grab
• Canadian rock balancing artist
• http://www.gravityglue.com
• movie: Gravity Glue (2013)
Conclusions
• Balance, order, complexity
• Balance between order and complexity
• Order vs. disorder – expectation violation
– prediction error
– need to reorganize
• Complexity – reduction of complexity
