1.
In Jean-Pierre Changuex lecture he discussed the discovery of some art topics such as the discovery of tools, symmetry, symbolism, and artistic composition. He also went into detail about how these ideas have developed into what we know today. He also expressed his ideas on what art and aesthetics are. He gave four examples to define his idea of art and aesthetics. He expressed that 1, it is a work of art if it includes artifacts production, etc. 2, it has to be distinct from language being nonverbal works. 3, it has to have esthetic efficacy staggering the effects on emotions and reason. 4, it is art history which means it is renewal without progress. Changuex also told us his rules of art which are novelty (surprise), consensus partium, sharing a message, and schematisation. He ended his lecture by discussing the evolutionary origins of art and aesthetics which are sexual selection, group selection, inter-subjective communication & social bonding, and by-product of brain evolution.
In Vilayanur S. Ramachandran's lecture he focused on the 8 universal laws of aesthetics. Those 8 laws are grouping, peak shift principal, contrast, isolating a single cue to optimally exile cortical visual areas, perceptual "problem solving", symmetry, abhorrence of unique vantage points and suspicious coincidences, and art as metaphor. Ramachandran focused his lecture on explaining what a few of these 8 laws mean. He explained that grouping is when your mind groups points in art to detect camouflage and living things He explained that peak shift principal is when you pick out characteristics and you identify with them. He also explained that his law of isolation a single cue is simply the meaning "less is more" in art.
In the Philosophy of Art video they focused on the philosophers who have expressed interest in art, and aesthetics. The video discussed the development of aesthetics. It went on to tell us that in the 18th century aesthetics was developed, Baumgarten coined the word aesthetics. The video explained how art was developing through the century's and how by the 20th century we had entered new eras of art. The video concluded by saying that art is always expanding and we will continue to understand art as it continues to change.
In the CNN article it discussed how the human brain was wired for art. The brain is wired so that we can make sense of lines, colors, and patterns on a flat canvas. The article went on to explain how/why our brain recognizes some examples within art. Our brain recognizes lines by outlining an object. Line drawing dates back to the stone age people and it allows us to identify objects by the use of "lines". Our brain also identifies faces. Our brain can recognize a face and then allows us to trigger emotional responses. Our brain identifies with 2 streams in our visual system that allow us to see color, recognize objects, and navigate our environment Using colors and shading allows us to trick our brain into thinking its seeing in 3D.
2.
The philosopher that I found most important was the 19th century German philosopher Gerog Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. He believed that there were three eras of art eastern (symbolic), classical, and romantic. He also believed that through art you were able to express what you may become. He believed in symbolism which I believe is in all art. He also paved the way for the expression theories. People believe he was the turning point of aesthetics because he rejected the representational theories of art. I believe that without Hegel art wouldn't be the same as it is now. He believed in symbolism which is such a major idea of art.
3.
To be completely honest I was confused by Changuex's ideas of aesthetics. To me he seemed to explain more of the history behind aesthetics whereas Ramachandran gave us examples of aesthetics and how our brain connects with art. Ramachandran expressed to us how it was that our brain connected to the laws of aesthetics. The part of Ramachandran's lecture that I found most interesting was his 2nd law, the peak shift principal. He explained that our brain picks out characteristics that allow us to recognize it in different circumstances. He used the example of the baby seagull recognizing the red dot on his mothers beak, the seagull was able to recognize the red dot on a wooden stick as well. The seagull didn't recognize with the mothers beak, but just the red dot on it. The point in Changuex's lecture that I found most interesting was his rules of art, in particular one rule. His 3rd rule was that art shares a message. I agreed completely with that rule because when I think almost all art is made to display a message from the artist.
4.
The videos and the article related greatly to the text we read. The videos discussed why we have art and what it means which was discussed in chapters 1 and 2 of our book. The whole idea of aesthetics in the videos and article was expressed in every chapter of our book that we read so far. In chapter 2 there is a whole page dedicated to aesthetics, but the idea is somehow examined in every chapter. In chapter 2 we begin to examine what art really is, how its expressed, etc. The whole idea of aesthetics is the philosophy of art, studying art to understand it. I think the videos expressed everything we read in chapters 1-3, it just gave us more examples to connect to.
5.
I enjoyed all the videos and articles. The only complaint I had about the CARTA video was that Changuex kept loosing my interest (could have been because I was having a hard time understanding him), but I really enjoyed Ramachandran's lecture. I like that he gave us specific examples of his laws of aesthetics. Also I enjoyed that he added humor into his lecture. I also really enjoyed the Philosophy of Art video because it explained the changes in art throughout the centuries. I also like that it gave examples of philosophers of aesthetics, I think it was easier to understand the concept of aesthetics with the ideas from the philosophers. I liked how the CNN article was broken up into sections so we could read separately how our brain responded to different aspects of art. I think if I was to only read the text and not watch the videos or read the other article I wouldn't have the understanding of aesthetics that I do now. It is a very complex idea, so the more examples and research we are given, the easier it will be to understand.
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