Defining the Aesthetic
Bistable Perception within the Dalinian Universe: How Can the Title of Paintings Modulate Their Interpretations?
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Guillermo Andres Rodriguez Martinez
Paintings that were created by using bistable images could be interpreted owing to the meaning of their title. Hence, the title can operate as a semantic modulator. What is the relationship between the ambiguous images created by Salvador Dalí and their titles? The influence of the Renaissance masters Dalí saw in Italy is clearly apparent in the group of images he subsequently used in his paintings in order to establish multiple images, as in Spain, The invention of the monsters or The three ages. How can the title of the paintings modulate these interpretations? Can words related to a visual composition be seen as semantic modulators notwithstanding the location in the picture where the viewer fixates? Dali painted paintings and images using ambiguous figures in order to create a strange sensation for the beholder. It should be considered the fact of perception of bistable figures depends on the location in the figure where the observer fixates. On the other hand, this sort of perception is also related to semantic information that can influence the perceptual configuration. This project has been carried out so as to state if the title of bistable paintings is able to modulate the perception of the ambiguous visual stimulus. As has been stated, bistable perception involves diverse concepts of cognitive neuroscience as well as mechanisms that allow for a dissociation of processes linked to sensory stimulation from those that are connected to conscious perception within the scope of pictorial art.
Meditative Tendendency in Contemporary Abstract Painting
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Agnieszka Tes
My main thesis is based on the observation that there is a vivid meditative tendency in contemporary abstract painting. I will propose the characteristic of this international phenomenon and specify some directions in which it is developing nowadays. The originality of my approach is based on the juxtaposition of the contemporary painting from different cultures including American, Asian and European examples. I will define what the meditative tendency means and then I will apply it to the artworks by indicating the specific use of the color, composition or numinous effect. I will examine the influence of Color Field Painting but also I will discuss geometrical realizations and more individual searching. The theoretical background to my presentation is classical publications (such as The Spiritual in Art. Abstract Painting 1890 – 1985) as well as the newest critical statements. Generally speaking, I consider the meditative tendency in contemporary abstract painting as a continuity of the tendency that appeared in the second half of the XX century. I maintain that it is a reaction to the materialistic impact of contemporary culture. This kind of painting can serve as a space of silence and contemplation for modern society.
Artificial Nature Interpreted through the Lens of Play: A Case Study of TeamLab
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yihan Vanessa Li
The exploration of nature in art has seen endless forms, expressions and remain a great inspiration source for global artists because it provides us with such an abundance of inspiring phenomena. Since the end of WWII, technological advancement has enabled many artists to start working with tools that differentiate them from the traditional artistic creation of nature such as the landscape paintings or the land art movement. teamLab is a Japanese creative group that brings artists, programmers, animators, and many other specialists under one roof to work on projects that utilise non-material digital technology, such as sensing, networks, light, and sound, to create interactive and immersive nature-like experiences. By situating and analyzing the particular creation of teamLab among other nature-inspired works since 1960, the research looks at how “play” when adopted as an aesthetic principle affect the making of artificial nature. It also intends to establish a deeper understanding of nature in our current times.
