“Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye” by Rudolf Arnheim

Picked up this bad boy at a used book sale. It is a little older, the second edition (the one I read) was published in the 1970s and you can tell just from reading it. For example, there are continual references to how “children and savages” interpret art versus how civilized adults interpret art, which is really not politically correct.

It is also presented as a combination of art and psychology, but it really heavily leans towards the art side of things. Very few studies are presented and cited, meaning that this book would never be taken seriously in the scientific world. It primarily relies on the reader’s intuition and memories when looking at art, meaning that most of it is intuitively understandable and the rest is kinda questionable, depending on your art experience and opinions.

To be honest though, because of its slightly different approach to art, I thought it was a really interesting read. The author goes through several different aspects of art, from form and color to dynamics and movement, and explains why we see what we see and will usually take a couple paintings as examples and go through those more in depth. Like I said, most of his evidence is anecdotal, but he clearly spells out what he is thinking in a way where if you don’t agree with him, you at least see where he’s coming from. I found it fascinating.

This book seems to be useful primarily from a media critic point of view where it helps you to think about art and how to analyze it rather than how to make it. Would definitely recommend if you are seeking a new and thought-provoking perspective!