Abstract
The appearance of an object from a viewpoint is important for visually guided actions. Since the vision for action need not be conscious, it leaves unsettled the questions of why and how humans are evidently capable of consciously seeing 2d images of 3d objects. Seeing images may seem useful only for artists doing observational drawing and painting. But whatever observational artists can see must be anchored in the visual cognitive competencies shared by all adult human beings. In this presentation, I propose a framework for understanding image vision from the distal world in neural network terms. I focus on the empirical research on size perception first, highlighting the effect of instruction on object and angular size perception. I then propose an extension to Grossberg’s (2021) brain resonance theory of consciousness to explain perceived angular size by suggesting a role played by the prefrontal cortex in sustaining mental images. Evidence supporting the ontogenetic and phylogenetic recency of angular size perception over constant object size will be presented. The conclusions reached about the size perception are then generalized to shape and color perceptions. In the last part of the study, I raise questions on what entails for observational artists to try to see the world from their viewpoints and what respective roles the viewpoint-centric and object-centric vision play in observational depiction. I argue that viewpoint-centric vision in observational depiction is essentially about seeing pictorial relationships that most non-artists have difficulty seeing.
Presenters
Leon LouAssociate Professor, Psychology, Grand Valley State University, Michigan, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
MENTAL IMAGE, VISION, DEPICTION, DRAWING, BRAIN, EVOLUTION, DEVELOPMENT, ATTENTION
