The Power of the Center : A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts : The New Version

Book Description

Using a wealth of examples, Arnheim considers the factors that determine the overall organization of visual form in works of painting, sculpture, and architecture.

Customer Reviews:

Yes!.......2007-03-20

I've been looking for a book like this for years! As a photographer, I know what I like but I can't always say why I (or others) like it--in other words, what makes a "good" image. Arnheim helps by examining with extraordinary sensitivity the psychology and even physiology of visual perception.

Yes, it's complicated, and if you are not on the same wavelength as the author it may seem obtuse (perhaps even willfully so). But if your thinking is congruent with his, if you have been puzzling over how people examine images, how their eyes move about an image and absorb and appreciate it, then Arnheim's analysis is nothing short of brilliant and revelatory. I find myself saying "Yes! Yes! Yes!" as I read.

There is more here than I need--much more. I don't feel that I need to master everything he writes in order to fulfill my need to understand visual perception so as to improve my photography. But I celebrate the day I discovered this book, and I congratulate the author on such a perceptive, clearly--even engagingly--written work.

A classic by the great pioneer in the perception of art.......2005-11-28

Arnheim's great books inspired me to make my own analysis of one artist's paintings, van Gogh, so I just wanted to make a few comments about that. (I even once received a letter from Arnheim, saying he liked my ideas).

As Ernst Gombrich has shown, analyzing space in a picture is an extremely complex business. The fact that even sophisticated observers sometimes form mistaken impressions of a pictorial space is itself an interesting phenomenon and illustrates an important principle of the human visual system, which is that it is not very good at evaluating precise metrical relationships. If the space is so constructed that it is at least internally consistent, it may look realistic when it is not, and the space may even seem distorted when it is not.

Considering the problem of the different recession rates for the objects in van Gogh's paintings, how do we account for these distortions? We could simply dismiss them as errors resulting from van Gogh's inability to paint perspectivally, but would be a mistake, for the following reasons:

1) The magnitude and direction of the errors in the sizes of objects are consistent with known psychophysical mechanisms of size constancy.

2) There is a strong shape constancy effect, and also (as John Ward has pointed out), such as in the two chairs and the pictures on the wall (in his Bedroom at Arles).

3) Van Gogh's failure to map out an initial, precise, major metric eliminates the most important perspective cue for object scaling and thus permits the inherent constancy-scaling effects of the human visual system to surface.

4) Although distorted perspectivally, the space is nevertheless internally consistent. This is to be expected from secondary size-constancy effects.

5) The technique of squinting to enhance one's depth of field, which van Gogh sometimes used, would reinforce cues to size constancy by essentially putting the station point behind the artist.

Points 4 and 5 require further discussion.

As noted earlier, secondary size constancy is the tendency for the sizes of objects to correlate with other perspective cues. Even in a painting with a very poorly defined or no major metric (such as in van Gogh's Bedroom), most perspective errors are not random. If they were, the errors would occur in both positive and negative directions about some mean value and would therefore average out. This is rarely the case, however. Usually the errors show a consistent trend. This is because once a given direction and magnitude of deviation has been established, other cues tend to be altered accordingly for the sake of consistency. This can be seen in van Gogh's Bedroom where different objects show similar effects. Although the objects themselves show different vanishing points, the size effect is nevertheless the same.

Van Gogh is also known to have used squinting in order to increase his depth of field. This would cause both foreground and background objects to appear simultaneously more in focus and therefore would have the effect of putting the station point artificially in back of the observer. Durer illustrated a device to accomplish this in his treatise on perspective, but simply squinting strongly can produce a powerful effect of several feet.

Schapiro, Heelan, and various other writers have commented on the sense of realism which van Gogh's paintings create in the viewer. But at this point we could ask why, if van Gogh's perspective space is in many ways so imprecise, we continue to see it as powerful and realistic? Partly it is due to the fact that although there are many spatial distortions present, the space is nevertheless consistent with psychophysical expectations and the distortions due to size constancy are of the proper psychophysical magnitude. This is perhaps to be expected given van Gogh's interest in objects and in the depiction of objects for their own sake. The result is that objects possess more autonomy in van Gogh's paintings than they would if he had taken pains to construct a unified perspective space and thus show appropriate psychophysical effects.

The main reason, however, concerns a fundamental principle of mammalian visual systems. It has been demonstrated repeatedly in experiments that the human visual system is a poor detector of the absolute values of such things as brightness and distance. On the other hand, the visual system is very good at preserving relationships and relative levels of things. Our eyes, for example, throw away information about luminous intensity but conserve and even enhance information about relative brightness and contrast borders, as in the well-known case of Mach bands. This mechanism enables us to easily detect the outlines of objects under varying levels of illumination. In fact, the visual system is such a good extractor of lines that it creates them where they don't even exist or where they are only suggested, as in the well- known case of illusory and subjective contours.

A similar phenomenon occurs in space perception. As I discussed earlier in this article, many experiments have shown that people rarely view paintings from the proper perspective point, and yet experience very little distortion in the perceived objects. This suggests that the visual system constructs an internal model which preserves the relations between the objects in a scene. When distortions occur, the visual system is capable of compensating internally for the perceived distortion. In practical terms, this means that the perspective may depart substantially, both quantitatively and qualitatively, from reality and yet be seen as realistic if it is not too greatly distorted and if the space is at least internally consistent.

What all this shows is that artists are, in essence, perceptual problem solvers, or, as Rudolph Arnheim has said, "visual thinkers." Such a view is, I believe, preferable to the idea that the artist paints from some inexplicable or mysterious talent, or from some sort of abnormal psychology or pathology.

More scientific than artistic.......2000-04-21

The book reads like a complicated mathematical college text book. The author either tries to impress you with his knowledge of the english language or confuse you with the ideology behind his observations in artistic composition. I found the book to be very confusing and at times boring enough to put it aside and read something else. The author does relate some good input when critiquing paintings but you need pay complete attention to the beginning of the book in order to understand his complicated formulas. It is definetely not an easy read, and not for the artist. This book is for the art critic who tries to find scientific formulas for the study of composition.

The Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the visua.......2000-04-18

This book offers an in-depth analysis of the visual dynamics in a piece of art according to the sizes, positions, orientations and the balancing centers of its components. Paintings, sculptures and architectures are the subjects of discussions in the book. In addition to the balance between the components of a piece of art, the shape of a picture frame, the environment, the perspective prescribed by the artist and the viewer all play an important role in the interpretation of a piece art. The author takes an step-by-step approach to explain how the understanding of the roles of all these elements would help us to appreciate a piece of art. Many examples, modern and classical, are provided to demonstrate his points. I find his approach to understanding a piece of art interesting and revealing. This is one of the best books I ever read about arts. I think this book would benefit aspiring artists and art enthusiasts alike. I would hane given it five stars instead of four and a half if the pictures in the book were in color.

Book Description

Chicago’s fine arts have long languished in the shadow of the city’s architectural riches, but their time has finally come, most prominently as the focus of the final major exhibition at Chicago’s Terra Museum of American Art. The attendant catalog of the Terra Museum’s fall 2004 exhibition, "Chicago Modern, 1893-1945: Pursuit of the New", is the first-ever survey by a major art museum of early American modernist works created by Chicago artists.

At the opening of the twentieth century, Chicago was regarded as the quintessential modern city that would provide fertile soil for a new national art. The debut of impressionism at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 bore early witness to this expectation as it marked the arrival of modern art in Chicago. In the midst of great local controversy, and echoing debates raging at the time in New York and Paris, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago incorporated modernism into its curriculum, a move that led Chicago-trained artists to experiment in and reinterpret the prominent art movements of their time. Here, for the first time, this work is showcased. This volume focuses on the rich body of artistic work produced during the city’s artistic “golden age,” the period from the 1893 Exposition through the end of World War II.

Noted art scholars contribute to the volume with essays that explore how Chicago painters created a unique niche in these transformative international art movements--from the impressionism of the 1800s to the social realism and surrealism of the 1930s and 1940s--and forged a regional consciousness through experimental means. This detailed and lavishly illustrated catalog examines the larger issues and concerns that shaped art in Chicago during this period, offering a new and valuable addition to regional American art scholarship and a fitting farewell for one of Chicago’s most beloved art museums.

Contributors:
Wendy Greenhouse
Elizabeth Kennedy
Daniel Schulman
Susan Weininger

Customer Reviews:

amazing Chicago.......2007-03-10

Good to see Chicago modern art getting such a splendid treatment -- I learned a lot about all the different artists working, and came away with a sense of Chicago as a rich and exciting place for modernist painters

In Pursuit of Fame: Rembrandt Peale, 1778-1860

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In Pursuit of Fame: Rembrandt Peale, 1778-1860
Lillian B. Miller
Manufacturer: Natl Portrait Gallery Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0295972432

Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book Three (Artistic Pursuits: K-3 Book Three, Impressionism to the Modern Period)

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Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book Three (Artistic Pursuits: K-3 Book Three, Impressionism to the Modern Period)
Brenda Ellis
Manufacturer: Artistic Pursuits, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: 0976205580

Product Description

K-3 Bk.3 completes the K-3 series in art technique and art history. In it's 33 units there are 8 categories. Impressionist Painting and Sculpture, Beyond Impressionist Painting and Sculpture, Modern European Painting and Sculpture and American Invention in Sculpture. The artist does a splendid job of presenting art history, technique and terminology, making it a complete curriculum.

In Pursuit Of Heavenly Harmony: Paintings And Calligraphy By Bada Shanren From The Estate Of Wang Fangyu And Sum Wai

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In Pursuit Of Heavenly Harmony: Paintings And Calligraphy By Bada Shanren From The Estate Of Wang Fangyu And Sum Wai
Qianshen Bai
Manufacturer: Weatherhill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Religious | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Calligraphy | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0834805251
Release Date: 2003-04-01

Book Description

This compelling and lavishly illustrated presentation offers fresh insight into the mysterious life and works of Bada Shanren (1625-1705), the Chinese Ming dynasty master of the brush whose idiosyncratic visual vocabulary was full of personal symbolism and artistic gesture. The central catalogue of Bada's works details the significant features of each artwork, along with translations of all texts and calligraphy.

The Artist, His Model, Her Image, His Gaze: Picasso's Pursuit of the Model

Average customer rating:

Dense and scholarly, especially at first

The Artist, His Model, Her Image, His Gaze: Picasso's Pursuit of the Model
Karen L. Kleinfelder
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Cubism | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Arts & Photography | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0226439836

Book Description

Although Pablo Picasso's name is virtually synonymous with modernity, his late graphics repeatedly turn back to the traditional theme of the artist and model. Had the aging artist turned reactionary, or is Picasso's treatment of the theme more subversive than anyone has suspected?

In this innovative study, Karen L. Kleinfelder rejects the claim that Picasso's later work was a failure. The failing, she claims, lies more in the way we typically have read the images, treating them merely as reflections of an "old-age" style or of the artist's private life.

Focusing on graphics dating from 1954 to 1970, Kleinfelder shows how Picasso plays with the artist-model theme to extend, subvert, and parody both the possibilities and limits of representation. For Kleinfelder, Picasso's graphic work both mystifies and demystifies the creative process, venerates and mocks the effects of aging and the artist's self-image as a living "old master," and acknowledges and denies his own fear of death.

Using recent interpretive and literary theory, Kleinfelder probes the three-way relationship between artist, model, and canvas. The dynamics of this relationship provided Picasso with an open-ended textual framework for exploring the dichotomies of man/woman, self/other, and vitality/mortality. What unfolds is the artist's struggle not only with the impossibility of representing the model on canvas, but also with the inevitability of his own death.

Kleinfelder explores how Picasso's means of pursuing these issues allows him to defer closure on a long, productive career. By focusing on the graphics rather than the paintings, Kleinfelder contradicts the primacy of the painted "masterpiece"; she steers the reader away from the assumption that the artist must work toward creating a final body of work that signifies the culmination of his search for a coherent identify.

Picasso's search, she argues, realizes itself in the creative process. She interprets the late graphics not as a biographical statement but as a tool for investigating the possibilities of representation within the limits of Picasso's medium and his lifetime. Richly illustrated, Kleinfelder's book will open up new approaches to the late work of this complex artist.

Customer Reviews:

Dense and scholarly, especially at first.......1998-05-07

In the spirit of cubism, this review will show multiple facets and views.

The ART PHILOSOPHER will enjoy this book, especially Chapter 1 ("The Theme in Theory"), which fills a quarter of the volume. The CASUAL READER, unfortunately, will find this chapter daunting, from its semiotics, to its comments about deconstructing deconstruction. While subsequent chapters are easier reading, pedantic patter occasionally spills over-for example, "...the nude is only present as a signifier, not as the Signified, capital 'S'."

The PICASSO GROUPIE might get impatient during the long first chapter, since the seemingly-endless discussion about representations of representations is applicable to any depiction of any artist depicting anything. Thus, 25% of the book is generic--not Picasso-specific.

The ART LOVER, if he has the patience to get past the theoretical framework, will find Ms. Kleinfelder to be insightful as she explores Picasso's representations of artists and models (including positioning, physical appearance, sub-themes, symbolism, and sexual imagery).

Speaking of sexual imagery, some of the graphics are quite explicitly hard-core, which will delight the PRURIENT READER. We're not just talking about nudity here, folks-we're talking about close-up shots of penetration, so keep the kids away, and don't read this book in public.

Some of the verbiage can also be raunchy, though clever, appealing to the DIRTY-MINDED WIT. For example, a drawing with the model's legs spread wide is described as showing her vertical vulval slit punctuated by her anus below, rendering the effect of an exclamation point! In a similar spirit, the last chapter, very short, is called Coda Interruptus.

The BOOK LOVER will find this a well-produced work, down to its paper, which meets certain permanence standards...but the VALUE-ORIENTED CONSUMER will find the book overpriced, especially as there are no color reproductions among the 250 or so pages. Few paintings are reproduced, anyway; most of ! the plates show black and white works on paper. Don't even think of buying this book simply to grace your coffee table.

Book Description

This groundbreaking book, which accompanies an exhibition at the Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham, focuses on an overlooked strand in British painting of the 1930s. It reveals a small group of figure painters, situated stylistically between the avant-garde abstractionists and the Edwardian traditions of belle peinture, who were looking for ways of being both modern and in touch with a wide public.
The artists include Stanley Spencer and William Roberts, Maxwell Armfield, Laura Knight and Harold Williamson.

In Pursuit of Antiquity - Chinese Paintings of the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morseection of Mr, and Mrs. Ear

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In Pursuit of Antiquity - Chinese Paintings of the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morseection of Mr, and Mrs. Ear

Manufacturer: The Art Museum, Princeton University 1969
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

China | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000HTNZZG

IN PURSUIT OF ANTIQUITY, CHINESE PAINTINGS OF THE MING CH'ING DYNASTIES FROM THE COLLECTION OF MR. AND MRS. EARL MORSE

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IN PURSUIT OF ANTIQUITY, CHINESE PAINTINGS OF THE MING CH'ING DYNASTIES FROM THE COLLECTION OF MR. AND MRS. EARL MORSE
Roderick Whitfield
Manufacturer: The Art Museum/Princeton University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VGDB04

In Pursuit of Antiquity: Chinese Paintings of the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties from the Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Earl Morse

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In Pursuit of Antiquity: Chinese Paintings of the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties from the Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Earl Morse
Roderick Whitfield
Manufacturer: The Art Museum, Princeton Univers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

China | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000PT1PFU

Book Description

There's not much you can't do with Cubase VST--but how many users really achieve full mastery over the program? In this highly practical and creative book you will discover a wealth of tips and tricks to help you become more creative and more productive. The manual explains how VST works but this book shows you how to use it! You'll find tips on optimising your computer system, improving your grooves, audio and MIDI quantisation, using dynamic events, arranging, recording, synchronisation, using the editors, mixing, fader automation, audio processing, using audio effects, EQ, troubleshooting, and much, much more... An essential book for all Cubase VST users who want to get the most out of this powerful program.

Customer Reviews:

VST - Still a preferred workhorse for working songwriters.......2005-12-27

No matter how far you go in Cubase VST there is still more to learn and appreciate about this piece of software. Now that Band In A Box has added VST and ASIO support it just makes Cubase VST all the more valuable and Ian's book has advice and tips that no one can afford to be without.

This book holds a revered place in my recording technology library and I have found myself referring to it repeatedly as things come up along the way.

Buy this book ... you will discover things about Cubase that you will never forget and wonder why you hadn't delved into before.

Exactly what you need to know about Cubase!.......2002-03-29

Too much books contains the same informations that's wrote in the original manuals; Ian Waugh instead teaches things that nobody know! Buy it, don't esitate!

Book Description

This is the first systematic look at Erle Stanley Gardner's character Perry Mason. Bounds uses a combination of neoformalist and production of culture approaches and explores the characters and situations of the lawyer/detective narrative of Perry Mason, showing how it has been created, produced, and reproduced over time, in different media. Relying on archival data and detailed textual analysis, this book identifies a complex series of stylistic devices and motivations that govern each production, ultimately presenting an insightful look at a well-known figure in American popular culture. This book contains an exhaustive list of the various manifestations of Perry Mason in novels, films television, radio, comic strips, and other forms.

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