Good. WC
--- On Mon, 12/22/08, Luc Delannoy <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Luc Delannoy <[email protected]> > Subject: Valuing art > To: [email protected] > Date: Monday, December 22, 2008, 1:08 PM > Geoff and Group, > > Some things Ibve learned about valuing art from studying > neuroaesthetics. > > Valuing art depends of the different aspects of our sensory > world and how we generate conscious experience of auditory > or visual percept > (subjective awareness of a stimulus). > > Corollary questions: how patients with > scotoma in their > visual fields value art? how patients with spinal cord > injury > value art? > Valuing depends also on the binding process that underlies > auditory/visual perception.We need an understanding of the > parallel pathways > (streams) > and the binding question. > > Analyzing the V1 area in the visual > cortex helps us > understand that valuing is context-sensitive. > > It seems some > artists have decided unconsciously to activate > or bwork withb specific > visual areas: V4, color area for fauvism; V5, movement > area, see Calder, > etcb& See my post about brain and cubism, aesthetic > fatigue > and the element > of surprise in Magritte (will attend that last point in a > different post.) > Now, about watching paintings, Gallese and Freedberg > propose that even the > artistbs gestures in producing the artwork induce the > empathetic > engagement > of the observer, by activating simulation of the motor > program that > corresponds to the gesture implied by the trace. > > So our first reactions in > valuing a painting > would be: > - the > feeling of bodily engagement > with the gestures, movements and intentions of > others > - the > identification of the emotions of observed others > - a > feeling > of empathy for bodily sensations > > Changeux teached me that seeing visual art > is > like reasoning b first we deconstruct then we reconstruct a > painting. > That > involves different prefrontal and frontal regions of our > brain (the same > we use > while reasoning). > > The same is happening when we listen to music. > What strikes me as fundamental is the asynchrony > in the visual process. Our > visual cortex does not see everything simultaneously > but step by step. There > is a delay of 400-500 milliseconds, itbs like a safety > margin the brain > gives for reviewing the situation we are in. > > Valuing art depends also on > different kinds of > working memory. (MRI shows activation of areas of frontal > cortex for face > memory) So valuing could depend on the levels of > neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. > > In the case of valuing interactive > art, > auditory input can influence a visual search. See > Tannenhaus. > > I > understand that the above might represent a short cut to > other > fundamental > ideas. > > Luc > > PS. Michael Gazzaniga wrote an interesting report on art > and > cognition.
