Module 2

Changuex talks about how works of art are artifacts and human productions that are symbolic, while Ramachandran has a broader idea of what art is and therefore refers to art as a visual aesthetic. They both agree on the impacts of art on Human emotion due to the evolution of our brains.

Ramachandran does approach the subject with a set of rules that he refers to as the Eight Laws of Art. There is grouping, peak shift principal, contrast, isolating a single cue to provoke the cortical visual areas, perceptual problem solving, symmetry, an aversion to unique vantage points and coincidences, and art used as a metaphor. Changeux talks about the novelty of art used to cause brain activity of surprise. He also focuses on the universal search for harmony and the artists attempt to share their view of the world. Ramachandran and Changeux both talked about the universal reactions to art due to the brain.

I found it fascinating how a humans perception and how their brains process information has a lot to do with what a person finds aesthetically pleasing. Ramachandran's concept of why people find complimentary colors pleasing is because the idea of camouflage was developed in primates. This is the most surprising and interesting fact to me; I was not aware that the concept was ingrained in human genetics.

The article and Ramachandran both talked about how humans search out faces. This is why the lawful distortions, illusions, work as a form of art. The article talked about "coarse information", the distorted faces that can trigger an emotional response in humans. When the detail-oriented part of the brain, that processes what a person sees, is distracted, then they become more emotionally engaged. Perhaps this is why I favor Impressionist works of art.

The main focus I find in the videos, the reading, and the article, is about perception. The textbook talks about how different people have different perceptions because they do not see the same details. Perhaps that is why, when you blur those details or distort them, your brain resorts to an emotional response. Perception has a lot to due with how you process a work of art. It is why people have different preferences and these preferences can change when different details are noticed.