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Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye
Gestalt theory and the psychology of visual perception form the basis for an analysis of art and its basic elements
508 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
About the author
Rudolf Arnheim
73 books126 followersRudolf Arnheim (1904–2007) was a German-born author, art and film theorist, and perceptual psychologist. He learned Gestalt psychology from studying under Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler at the University of Berlin and applied it to art. His magnum opus was his book Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye (1954). Other major books by Arnheim have included Visual Thinking (1969), and The Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts (1982). Art and Visual Perception was revised, enlarged and published as a new version in 1974, and it has been translated into fourteen languages. He lived in Germany, Italy, England, and America. Most notably, Arnheim taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan. He has greatly influenced art history and psychology in America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
May 9, 2012
For anyone pursuing art as a lifetime adventure/endeavor, this is your art bible. This book was pivotal in opening my mind to a multifaceted way of looking at visual organization, composition and development. It gave me a hunger to create that still fuels me today. Rudolf Arnheim is often overlooked as a pusher of modernist thinking and perhaps that he is maybe out of style or old school, this is SO untrue. Yes, he is from the modernist era and references many artists from that era because of when this was written, but this book is a timeless way of looking at anything. He was an absolute genius and loved teaching, which is very evident in this book.
He is in the direct lineage from the Bauhaus and studied with the most influential psychologists, architects and artists of the 20th century. He wrote well into his 90s (lived to be 103!), creating new books for the world. This type of book is probably not for the casual art enthusiast but for people looking to explore art on a deeper realm and gain an understanding of art, the artists mind, and how people perceive art and interpret art mentally regardless of if it contains a narrative or recognizable subject matter. This book is like learning a new language/forgotten language. What once was just a bunch of meaningless sounds or words that stood alone become sentences. It is that prolific. Although his writing style is academic, it is by no means boring and every chapter leads to the pursuit of more knowledge through chasing down books, authors, musicians and artists that he references. If you read this book and love it, you should try to get your hands on a copy of "The Thinking Eye" by Paul Klee and Le Corbusier's "The Modulor".
He is in the direct lineage from the Bauhaus and studied with the most influential psychologists, architects and artists of the 20th century. He wrote well into his 90s (lived to be 103!), creating new books for the world. This type of book is probably not for the casual art enthusiast but for people looking to explore art on a deeper realm and gain an understanding of art, the artists mind, and how people perceive art and interpret art mentally regardless of if it contains a narrative or recognizable subject matter. This book is like learning a new language/forgotten language. What once was just a bunch of meaningless sounds or words that stood alone become sentences. It is that prolific. Although his writing style is academic, it is by no means boring and every chapter leads to the pursuit of more knowledge through chasing down books, authors, musicians and artists that he references. If you read this book and love it, you should try to get your hands on a copy of "The Thinking Eye" by Paul Klee and Le Corbusier's "The Modulor".
April 9, 2011
Everyone who reads this book in its entirety is guaranteed to wind up appreciating (and even 'understanding') abstract modernist art- I know I did. Contrary to what someone said here I would say this stuff does sink in- mainly because Arnheim managed to present his observations clearly, and illustrated them convincingly with visuals, in the form of reproductions or explanatory sketches by the author himself.
Arnheim's book will equip its readers with not just a vocabulary, but a whole grammar for talking and thinking about paintings from any chosen era- an invaluable skill for anyone who falls in love with a particular painting but doesn't know why or how to explain it to others.
Finally, 'Art and Visual Perception' is an essential read for those confused by post-modern art, willing to enjoy paintings firsthand, on a very basic and satisfying level, that is as resonant arrangements of lines, colours, planes. You'll love Kandinsky after reading this one.
Arnheim's book will equip its readers with not just a vocabulary, but a whole grammar for talking and thinking about paintings from any chosen era- an invaluable skill for anyone who falls in love with a particular painting but doesn't know why or how to explain it to others.
Finally, 'Art and Visual Perception' is an essential read for those confused by post-modern art, willing to enjoy paintings firsthand, on a very basic and satisfying level, that is as resonant arrangements of lines, colours, planes. You'll love Kandinsky after reading this one.
January 13, 2021
Na moral, esse livro é ruim demais.
February 7, 2020
I was lucky enough to have Prof. Arnheim at University of Michigan the year after his revised edition of this book came out. It was a life-changer for me. I had no idea that 25 years later I would become a docent at the art museum. Seeing, is a creative act... one we require and associate with understanding. His opening sentence of the introduction is as true today as it was in 1954 or 1974.
Art may seem to be in danger of being drowned by talk. "The inborn capacity to understand through the eyes has been put to sleep and must be reawakened." How refreshing to start off understanding that "gestalt" the common German noun for shape or form, has been applied since the 20th century to experiments in sensory perception. The appearance of any element depends on its place and function in an overall pattern.
All perceiving is also thinking.... all reasoning is also intuition... all observation is also invention...
It isn't analyzing the lines, shapes, colors... but the mood, dynamics they create...
I must re-read this book -- I know I use what I learn from it now, almost 50 years after I first encountered it as I guide people to observe balance, shape, form, orientation in space, line, contour, light, color, movement, dynamics... expression.
Art may seem to be in danger of being drowned by talk. "The inborn capacity to understand through the eyes has been put to sleep and must be reawakened." How refreshing to start off understanding that "gestalt" the common German noun for shape or form, has been applied since the 20th century to experiments in sensory perception. The appearance of any element depends on its place and function in an overall pattern.
All perceiving is also thinking.... all reasoning is also intuition... all observation is also invention...
It isn't analyzing the lines, shapes, colors... but the mood, dynamics they create...
I must re-read this book -- I know I use what I learn from it now, almost 50 years after I first encountered it as I guide people to observe balance, shape, form, orientation in space, line, contour, light, color, movement, dynamics... expression.
August 1, 2012
Very similar to Visual Thinking, but a bit broader and contends with sociological & cultural considerations within the history of Art and science. Not quite as condensed, as Visual Thinking is essays, but a much deeper and more interesting book overall.
January 19, 2021
So much great information in here + on top of that just a really effective sleeping aid
August 25, 2020
"La forma es el contenido", como me decían en la universidad, y es cierto.
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November 30, 2020IZGUBILA SAM VOLJU ZA ZIVOTOM I OBRAZOVANJEM ALI DOBRA KNJIGA PAMETAN COVJEK
July 6, 2021
An incredibly enlightening book that focus' on a subject so shamefully oppressed in my field of study, architecture. Although I remain to a degree cynical of the depositions Arnheim alides to famous works of art; as to a degree you can pick and choose the observations you wish to bring to attention; the practical methods of reviewing works of art and design he expounds has grant the young designer with the words to finally explain and debate the before unappreciated merits of design
March 27, 2018
I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This is a textbook slog. But so worth it. As a non-artist (trained in the sciences), this opened my eyes to the many things that are surely fundamental to practicing artists as regards composition. And I see the value of formalism in art, particularly in its teaching as a craft. But as a lover of art, I also see the danger. I am wary of crushing the pure joy of discovery under a heavy pile of nuanced theory and rigid comparative analysis. As a life-long “visceralist” (i.e. I know what I like, damn it), I am thankful for these many years of having it all just wash over me. And yet also thankful to now have a more studied basis to understand why it is that I may like or not like a certain work. It seems to me that this book is essential to any aspiring artist. For the rest of us, this is a gift that opens the door to deeper understanding.
December 31, 2022
A deep read on perception and art. This was my second reading after 30 years when I was assigned to read this book by my 2D teacher Mr. McGovern.
It is somewhat difficult to comprehend and the writing is somewhat technical and deeply philosophical but I always find great nuggets of knowledge and intuition buried in it. I marked this book up extensively.
It is somewhat difficult to comprehend and the writing is somewhat technical and deeply philosophical but I always find great nuggets of knowledge and intuition buried in it. I marked this book up extensively.
August 27, 2016
هذا كتاب أقل ما يقال أنه رائع ، يفسر كثير من الجوانب المتعلقة بالابداع البصري ، ،وهو مرجع ممتاز في مجاله
November 7, 2014
Libro básico para entender la percepción que tenemos sobre el arte y perfecto para darnos el conocimiento necesario al visitar una exhibición.
May 19, 2015
A perennial favorite!
March 7, 2022
Great book, complex and full of insights but I couldn't understand the author in some parts, is too smart for me.
December 10, 2022
Oh, wow. As one can imagine, this is a big textbook, and getting through it is a milestone and a lot of work. I have spent an entire year doing this. Last year I attempted and failed. I was a very young art student, once upon a time, who knew nothing, and then I became an adult and realized that I knew nothing. Art meant everything to me, but I was one of those students who came out of a movement of well, let's be free and do our thing. Let's just view art with our hearts and let the rough end drag. And so many of us, even now, do that. Screaming.
Art can heal us. Art can move the world. Art saves us. Art is our expression. How can we treat it so likely as if it has no purpose, intent, and meaning? Moving on.....
And then as I grew older, and I hope wiser, and I suffered all the things in life that we human beings face, I realized that to make good art we also have to understand where art came from and how it developed and what does it mean to look at it and really see it, even attempt to see it as others might see it, not just in our own minds. We make art to make meaning. And we must make meaning with intent and purpose and to do that, we must experiment and change and challenge ourselves and how can we do that if we don't talk about how art is made and what it constitutes. We can't. It's a lie. Oh, yes the rising of sun is art. I've had all those silly discussions.
This book is essentially THE BIBLE. HERE ARE THE TOPICS: Balance. Shape. Form. Growth. Space. Light. Color. Movement. Dynamics. Expression. ALL ART POSSESSES these things. And these are the the things we must know and talk about. Each topic is a chapter that goes into great detail on the topics listed.
I mean, did I know there was symbolism in light? Did I know that color "interacted" with another color? I knew there was harmonies and such. Did I even guess at how we can play with space? Did I understand obliqueness? No. I did not. Not really.
I always believed we could talk art to death. And by God, we do talk EVERYTHING TO DEATH. But art can be seen better if we understand these things. And all artists need to study this book, keep it around them and reread. And if you love art, if you are one of those people who go to museums and view art, this book is a winner, too.
But no art student should ever be without it.
HIGH RECOMMENDED. A great book.
Art can heal us. Art can move the world. Art saves us. Art is our expression. How can we treat it so likely as if it has no purpose, intent, and meaning? Moving on.....
And then as I grew older, and I hope wiser, and I suffered all the things in life that we human beings face, I realized that to make good art we also have to understand where art came from and how it developed and what does it mean to look at it and really see it, even attempt to see it as others might see it, not just in our own minds. We make art to make meaning. And we must make meaning with intent and purpose and to do that, we must experiment and change and challenge ourselves and how can we do that if we don't talk about how art is made and what it constitutes. We can't. It's a lie. Oh, yes the rising of sun is art. I've had all those silly discussions.
This book is essentially THE BIBLE. HERE ARE THE TOPICS: Balance. Shape. Form. Growth. Space. Light. Color. Movement. Dynamics. Expression. ALL ART POSSESSES these things. And these are the the things we must know and talk about. Each topic is a chapter that goes into great detail on the topics listed.
I mean, did I know there was symbolism in light? Did I know that color "interacted" with another color? I knew there was harmonies and such. Did I even guess at how we can play with space? Did I understand obliqueness? No. I did not. Not really.
I always believed we could talk art to death. And by God, we do talk EVERYTHING TO DEATH. But art can be seen better if we understand these things. And all artists need to study this book, keep it around them and reread. And if you love art, if you are one of those people who go to museums and view art, this book is a winner, too.
But no art student should ever be without it.
HIGH RECOMMENDED. A great book.
Read
December 7, 2021Interesante. Al principio creía que era un manual técnico, leyéndolo me sorprendió su ambición, intenta lo más grande. Exponer tanto desempeño técnico como apreciación sensible. Las primicias en cada uno de sus capítulos son inspiradoras de curiosidad y desarrollo, pero en tanto te da la primicia el mismo intenta guiarte sobre su desempeño en vez de seguir describiéndolo, ahí su conceptualización falla, ya que adopta posturas conductivistas, sesgando toda interpretación fuera de su apreciación, dejando desprovista su maravillosa intuición sobre la percepción.
Un libro que si se hubiera ceñido meramente a desarrollar qué es la percepción, habría llegado a intuiciones fascinantes pero la ambición del autor sesga su primicia tratado de abarcar tanto escultura, como pintura y dibujo. Una siendo intervención espacial, la otra descripción espacial y la última cadencia muscular.
Tal diversidad termina haciendo imposible aunar todas las disciplinas a mera percepción y el libro empieza hacer aguas, incapaz de abarcar y unirlas en un desarrollo coherente, empieza a mezclar más materias como descripciones literarias y primicias físicas para justificar su teoría. No niego que divierte y por muchos momentos interesa, pero al final todo se cae y crea confusión, si se es crítico y no se cae abrumado.
Aún así es admirable su esfuerzo, me quedo con su primicia en la que toda composición inicia en el centro. Para desarrollar y reflexionar a fondo. Investigando…
Un libro que si se hubiera ceñido meramente a desarrollar qué es la percepción, habría llegado a intuiciones fascinantes pero la ambición del autor sesga su primicia tratado de abarcar tanto escultura, como pintura y dibujo. Una siendo intervención espacial, la otra descripción espacial y la última cadencia muscular.
Tal diversidad termina haciendo imposible aunar todas las disciplinas a mera percepción y el libro empieza hacer aguas, incapaz de abarcar y unirlas en un desarrollo coherente, empieza a mezclar más materias como descripciones literarias y primicias físicas para justificar su teoría. No niego que divierte y por muchos momentos interesa, pero al final todo se cae y crea confusión, si se es crítico y no se cae abrumado.
Aún así es admirable su esfuerzo, me quedo con su primicia en la que toda composición inicia en el centro. Para desarrollar y reflexionar a fondo. Investigando…
July 13, 2019
First thing you got to know about this book is that's a college textbook, so it's thick, dense, deep and specially hard, not in a bad sense, it's just that some paragraphs contain so much information that you have to read them again a few times before feeling you actually got what the author was trying to convey.
Aside from that, it's a great book it has a lot of research backed statements and solid cohesiveness of argument. It's probably better to read in college a context with a class and teacher to support you through it, but if you're courageous enough -like i was- you can try to read on you own from cover to cover. It will be challenge at some points, but it's rewarding nonetheless.
The insight you get on perception and how we see stuff in general can become a powerful tool in your art making procedures.
Aside from that, it's a great book it has a lot of research backed statements and solid cohesiveness of argument. It's probably better to read in college a context with a class and teacher to support you through it, but if you're courageous enough -like i was- you can try to read on you own from cover to cover. It will be challenge at some points, but it's rewarding nonetheless.
The insight you get on perception and how we see stuff in general can become a powerful tool in your art making procedures.
December 9, 2022
Livro carregado de descrições elaboradas não estabelecem nada substancial para o fator artístico criativo. A impressão do livro geral é a tentativa de descrever os detalhes que formam a arte com descrições imensas se perdem eu seu detalhes. Mas uma abordagem mais essêncial houve uma grande falta neste livro.
Foi um livro teve poucas partes específicas ao qual me ajudou a elaborar concepções, como ter uma nova perspectiva sobre os processos relações a arte ou a produção da mesma.
Porém, um dos grandes problemas é ter um excesso descritivo como se fosse um processo científico o qual se estabelece uma arte.
ocorrendo uma análise extensa de uma escultura, ou peça, no final não consegue se utilizar fora do objeto estudado, assim como alguns testes feitos em laboratório para afirmação de um artigo científico.
.
Eu estava na expectativa que o livro iria ser uma ponte entre elementos mais cognitivos ao lado visual perceptivo ao qual nós artistas elaboramos.
Foi um livro teve poucas partes específicas ao qual me ajudou a elaborar concepções, como ter uma nova perspectiva sobre os processos relações a arte ou a produção da mesma.
Porém, um dos grandes problemas é ter um excesso descritivo como se fosse um processo científico o qual se estabelece uma arte.
ocorrendo uma análise extensa de uma escultura, ou peça, no final não consegue se utilizar fora do objeto estudado, assim como alguns testes feitos em laboratório para afirmação de um artigo científico.
.
Eu estava na expectativa que o livro iria ser uma ponte entre elementos mais cognitivos ao lado visual perceptivo ao qual nós artistas elaboramos.
November 10, 2019
Relentlessly, fastidiously and with great precision Arnheim shows how visual art works, the intricate rules of the interplay of the machine of our perception and the physical object we (or others) call work of art.
Apart from the obvious, Arnheim also shows that all those words art critics seem to use indiscriminately do have--indeed have to have--definite meaning, and so makes it possible to discriminate between true insight and bullshit buried under flashy adjectives and incoherent abstractions.
Apart from the obvious, Arnheim also shows that all those words art critics seem to use indiscriminately do have--indeed have to have--definite meaning, and so makes it possible to discriminate between true insight and bullshit buried under flashy adjectives and incoherent abstractions.
July 8, 2023
A lucid and intense book ON how we see and think about what we see. I have learned a lot and will revisit in thought many of the ideas in the book. But in the end, I am OVERWHELMED. It's a masterwork for Arnheim, something in which he encapsulates everything he knows (and I'm pretty sure he knows EVERYTHING.)
January 3, 2018
This book required the double effort from me, since English is not my native language, but it help me build all my creative thinking and visual creativity from scratch in order to be able to "save" it in mind. At the end of the semester we took an exam on this book. 100/100
September 27, 2017
A nice book with interesting content. A must read for anyone who teaches or pursues art and architecture.
November 1, 2019
Fantastic
January 10, 2020
Very strong book, this is a work of Genius!
February 18, 2020
Тяжелое чтиво, еле осилил... Но, полезное...
April 13, 2020
A silly book. Attempts to say quite a lot. And does. But at what cost? This book could be shorter and lose nothing.
March 4, 2021
Libro letto per l’università, non è facilissimo da leggere perché è pieno di giri di parole. In sintesi spiega diversi ambiti legati al visuale e alla grafica: la luce, i colori, l’equilibrio ecc
June 4, 2021
Mostly about things you probably already knew, but defined and categorized as valuable tools.
July 27, 2021
incites insight
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews