A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts

This deeply interdisciplinary book examines the visual arts through the lens of complex dynamic systems theory.

Paul van Geert (Author)

9781009378963, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 April 2025

474 pages
23.6 x 16 x 3 cm, 0.844 kg

'Keen analysis and a wealth of examples offer a spectacular insight into how a complex dynamic systems view enables a (non-normative) meta perspective on art and art history as nonlinear, cross-cultural and transhistorical entanglements. Overcoming national confinements and traditional taxonomies it allows for a truly global art study. A thought-provoking must-read.' Kitty Zijlmans, Professor Emeritus of World Art Studies, Leiden University, Netherlands

This book presents a comprehensive and unexpected approach to the visual arts, grounded in the theories of complexity and dynamical systems. Paul van Geert shows how complexity and dynamical systems theories, originally developed in mathematics and physics, offer a novel perspective through which to view the visual arts. Diverse aspects of visual arts as a practice, profession, and historical framework are covered. A key focus lies in the unique characteristics of complex systems: feedback loops bridging short- to long-term temporal scales, self-organizing into creative emergent properties; dynamics which may be applied to a wide range of topics. By synthesizing theory and empirical evidence from diverse fields including philosophy, psychology, sociology, art history, and economics, this pioneering work demonstrates the utility of simulation models in deciphering a surprisingly wide range of phenomena such as artistic (super)stardom and shifts within art historical paradigms.

Part I. Art as a Complex Process: 1. A nonlinear affordance for exploration
2. Art and Process: definitions and ontologies
3. From processes to complex dynamic systems
4. Describing art through the lens of Complex Dynamic Systems
5. Art in a complex, dynamic web of functions
Part II. Entangled Timescales of Visual Arts: 6. Timescales of art as interacting processes
7. Timescales of artistic activity: creation and experience of art
8. Timescales of artistic careers
9. The timescale of excellence and celebrity
10. The timescale of art history
11. The timescale of deep history and of human evolution
Part III. Understanding Art Through Dynamic Models: 12. Dynamics of cultural and market value
13. Dynamic modeling of the emergence of excellence in the arts
14. Modeling long-term trends and discontinuities in art.

Subject Areas: Psychology [JM]