How do we interpret an object - a scene - a painting? Perception research and art illuminate from different angles how the vast amount of information in our visually perceived environment is processed by the viewer to form a coherent and consistent interpretation of the world. Using drawings and paintings by the artist Robert Pepperell, this work attempts to connect these different world views. Pepperell's paintings at first glance seem to be a baroque fresco, an expressionist still-life, or a cubist collage; taking a closer look, however, this concrete interpretation vanishes and we are left with an indeterminate painting. Using psychophysical experiments and eye tracking measures, in this work we seek to illuminate the visual processing of information in Pepperell's paintings. More specifically, we will investigate how the pattern of fixations - the loci of interest - change as a function of the task ('What is depicted in this scene?' vs. 'Does this image contain people?') and of the image content. The interpretation of the experimental results in the context of perceptual research will give first insights into the perception of (indeterminate) art. Conversely, the results are also relevant for art, as they provide a kind of perceptual, measurable 'validation' of the artist's intentions.
When observing art the viewer's understanding results from the interplay between the marks made on the surface by the artist and the viewer's perception and knowledge of it. Here we use a novel set of stimuli to dissociate the influences of the marks on the surface and the viewer's perceptual experience upon the manner in which the viewer inspects art. Our stimuli provide the opportunity to study situations in which (1) the same visual stimulus can give rise to two different perceptual experiences in the viewer, and (2) the visual stimuli differ but give rise to the same perceptual experience in the viewer. We find that oculomotor behaviour changes when the perceptual experience changes. Oculomotor behaviour also differs when the viewer's perceptual experience is the same but the visual stimulus is different. The methodology used and insights gained from this study offer a first step toward an experimental exploration of the relative influences of the artist's creation and viewer's perception when viewing art and also toward a better understanding of the principles of composition in portraiture.
The question of how humans perceive art and how the sensory percept is endowed with aesthetics by the human brain has continued to fascinate psychologists and artists alike. It seems, for example, rather easy for us to classify a work of art as either "abstract" or "representational". The artist Robert Pepperell recently has produced a series of paintings that seek to defy this classification: his goal was to convey "indeterminancy" in these paintings - scenes that at first glance look like they contain an object or belong to a certain genre but that upon closer examination escape a definite determination of their contents. Here, we report results from several psychophysical experiments using these artworks as stimuli, which seek to shed light on the perceptual processing of the degree of abstraction in images. More specifically, the task in these experiments was to categorize a briefly shown image as "abstract" or "representational". Stimuli included Pepperell's paintings each of which was paired with a similar representational work of art from several periods and several artistic genres. The results provide insights into the visual processes determining our perception of art and can also function as a "objective" validation for the intentions of the artist.
In an ongoing study we analyzed results of visual function tests and op hthalmo logical findings in visually disabled athletes. These are contrasted with classification results of these athletes collected during international competitions. Because classifications of visual impairments are mostly based on visual acuity (VA) so far, but the procedures constituted for the determination of VA do not correspond with the EN-ISO-8596, we took the International Open German Championships in Athletics in Berlin (2005) to compare the conventional measuring methods with those obtained by modern computerized/standardized methods to assess visual function. PURPOSE: In the context of a long-term study of new methods for multifactorial visual performance diagnostics in the low-vision-field we intend to optimize, standardize and objectify the classification to a fairer one. METHODS: Initially the existing classification data of 2035 athletes (73.4% male, 26.6% female) of 98 nations were evaluated. During the classification in Berlin, the Freiburg Visual Acuity and Contrast Test (FrACT), a computer supported forced choice test, was carried out in order to measure VA, while conventional methods (S.O.S.H.-Low Vision Chart) were used for comparison. 19 athletes participated in these inquiries (74% male, 26% female; age: 21.7 ± 6.0 years). RESULTS: Considering the classification data of 2035 athletes clinical pictures pattern like opticusatrophy, pigmentary retinopathy/macular degeneration, nystagmus and myopia were diagnosed most frequently. The starting classes B1 (blind athletes: 35.4%), B2 (visual impaired with less VA: 36.7%) and B3 (visual impaired with more VA: 27.3%) had almost the same quantity. The first proving of the FrACT shows that there are high correlations to the results of the conventional measurements of VA. This indicates that the new methods already contribute to the optimization of the classifying process because of the minimized influence of the classifier and the standardized computer supported realization. CONCLUSIONS: The stocktaking shows that the differences in VA between the extreme poles in starting class B2 are obviously bigger than in B3. This unequal distribution of VA-steps requires - at least due to reasons of fairness - a discussion about a new categorization of the starting classes.
Research on the perception of facial emotional expressions (FEEs) often uses static images that do not capture the dynamic character of social coordination in natural settings. Recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies suggest that dynamic FEEs (videos or morphs) enhance emotion perception. To identify mechanisms associated with the perception of FEEs with natural dynamics, the present EEG (Electroencephalography)study compared (i) ecologically valid stimuli of angry and happy FEEs with natural dynamics to (ii) FEEs with unnatural dynamics, and to (iii) static FEEs. FEEs with unnatural dynamics showed faces moving in a biologically possible but unpredictable and atypical manner, generally resulting in ambivalent emotional content. Participants were asked to explicitly recognize FEEs. Using whole power (WP) and phase synchrony (Phase Locking Index, PLI), we found that brain responses discriminated between natural and unnatural FEEs (both static and dynamic). Differences were primarily observed in the timing and brain topographies of delta and theta PLI and WP, and in alpha and beta WP. Our results support the view that biologically plausible, albeit atypical, FEEs are processed by the brain by different mechanisms than natural FEEs. We conclude that natural movement dynamics are essential for the perception of FEEs and the associated brain processes.
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