Emerging Visions of the Aesthetic Process
In Psychology, Semiology, and Philosophy

This book is about aesthetic processes and play from the perspectives of psychologists, philosophers and semiologists.

Gerald C. Cupchik (Edited by), Janos László (Edited by)

9780521400510, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 September 1992

348 pages, 17 b/w illus. 5 tables
24.4 x 16.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.695 kg

"...this volume is both intelligible and compelling for almost everyone with an interest in aesthetics....Superb contributions on artist psychology and knowledge in relation to interpretation provide bulletproof protection for category approaches to art, and breathtakingly original essays on sentimental art and the complementarity of art and design deserve to be read alongside the canonical works of philosophical aesthetics." Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

This book is about aesthetic processes and play from the perspectives of psychologists, philosophers and semiologists. They explore the underlying processes from many viewpoints, including the prehistoric roots of language and art; the historical evolution of artistic styles; the structure of artworks from both gestalt and semiotic perspectives; the biological and psychological processes underlying production and appreciation; personality in relation to artistic style; the testing and measurement of art-related skills; as well as neurobiological, developmental and individual growth perspectives on play activity. The book will be of interest to scholars who want to understand the many ways that aesthetic process can be conceptualized. Not only does it offer a broad basis for discussion, but it also stimulates scholars and students to consider where the study of aesthetic process is heading.

1. Daniel Berlyne and disinterested criticism: inter- and intra-disciplinary discourse John Furedy
Part I. Visual Aesthetics: 2. But is it science? Rudolf Arnheim
3. The 'frame' as a key to visual perception Nycole Paquin
4. Aesthetics and visual semiotics Fernande Saint-Martin
5. The complementarity of art and design Tsion Avital
6. From perception to production: a multileveled analysis of the aesthetic process Gerald C. Cupchik
7. A science of vision for visual art Francois Molnar
8. Sweetness and light: psychological aesthetics and sentimental art Andrew Winston
9. Psychobiography and visual creativity: four pattern Pavel Machotka
10. Cognitive profiles of artists Ellen Winner and M. Beth Casey
11. Assessing knowledge in the visual arts George W. Hardiman, Feng J. Liu and Ted Zernich
Part II. Literary and Other Aesthetic Processes: 12. The beginning of a new psychology: Vygotsky's psychology of art Vladimir S. Sobkin and Dmitry A. Leontiev
13. Empirical aesthetics in the USSR: selected topics Dmitry A. Leontiev, Vladimir M. Petrov and Vladimir S. Sobkin
14. The psychology of literature: a social-cognitive approach Janos Laszlo
15. Why literature is not enough, or: literary studies as media studies Siegfried J. Schmidt
16. Uncovering the laws of literary history Colin Martindale
17. Evolution of art and brain asymmetry: a review of empirical investigations Vladimir M. Petrov
Part III. Play: 18. A neurophysiological theory of play Istvan Bende and Endre Grastyan
19. Paradoxes of children's play in Vygotsky's theory Elena A. Bugrimenko and Elena O. Smirnova
20. The personal component in playing interfaces Moshe D. Caspi.

Subject Areas: Social, group or collective psychology [JMH]