| CODE | DGA5014 | ||||||
| TITLE | Perception and Consumption of Art | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Digital Arts | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Though mindful of Pablo Picasso’s statement ‘Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the song of a bird?’ this study unit provides students with an overview of topics from the areas of Cognitive Neuroscience, Visual Perception, and the Psychology of Art that provide a framework for the examination of the correlation between neurological processes and art appreciation (or “consumption” of art). Study-unit Aims - Review the current understanding of human visual perception from a Cognitive Neuroscience perspective; - Review theoretical frameworks used to account for aesthetic experience and consumption of art; - Provide the opportunity to students to discuss the implications of the human visual perceptual system to the perception and consumption of art during seminars and class discussions. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - be familiar with the human visual perceptual system; - be familiar with and critically evaluate different approaches to art appreciation and the major theories in the field; - understand how and why different techniques used in art are processed and perceived by “art consumers”. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - describe the way the human visual perceptual system contributes to the experience of art by “art consumers”; - use knowledge about the human visual perceptual system and apply it in producing different perceptions in “art consumers”. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings MAIN TEXT: [To be confirmed] - Solso, R. L. (2005). Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Conscious Brain. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. READING LIST - Arnheim. R. (2004). Art and visual perception: A psychology of the creative eye. University of California Press. (Available in main library) - Dennet, D. C.(1996). Seeing is believing - or is it? In: K. Akins (ed) Perception. Vancouver Studies in Cognitive Science. Vol 5. Oxford University Press 158-172. - Dennet, D. C.(2002). Does your brain use the images in it, and if so, how? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25, 189-190. - Goodale, M. (2008). Action without perception in human vision. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 25, p891-919 - Kemp, M. (1989) The Science of Art: Optical themes in western art from Brunelleschi to Seurat. Yale University Press, 1990. (Available in main library) - Livingstone, M. (2008). Vision and Art: The biology of seeing, Abrams ISBN 978-0810995543 - Ramachandran, V.S. and Hirstein, W. (1999). The Science of Art: A neurological theory of aesthetic experience. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6, p15-51. - Sacks, O.W. (1995). An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven paradoxical tales. London: Picador. Chapter 1 - The Case of the Colorblind Painter - Sacks, O.W. (1996). The Island of the Colour-blind and Cycad Island. London: Picador. (Available in main library) - Zeki, S. (1993). A vision of the brain. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Scientific Publications.(Available in main library) Other journal articles related to the topic will be made available on the Study Unit e-Learning website |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Matthew Galea |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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