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Publication Date
4-2020
Document Type
Presentation
Presentation Type
Individual
Degree Type
Graduate
Mentor
Daniel Breyer
Mentor Department
Philosophy
Co-Mentor
Tyler Lotz
Abstract
Whether it be looking at something from above or below. Or attempting to understand different political opinions, it is hard to refute the fact that in daily life we are constantly confronted by different perspectives. My artistic research and exposure to different philosophies, as well as visual psychology, have fostered the notion that attempting to understand the world through multiple perspectives is common to our human behavior and psyche. It seems as though humankind has endlessly strived to reconcile seemingly opposing views. In a sense, you might say that collectively (and individually) we have attempted to make “wholes” out of a fragmented world. One of the most widely accepted forms of visual psychology to describe this phenomenon would be the gestalt principal of closure. Closure attempts to explain how human perception is inclined to see forms in a complete state, despite the absence of one or more of their parts. A seemingly opposing perspective to gestalt’s principle of closure might be observed in the philosophical idea of anattā, which is a Buddhist doctrine that identifies a person’s “self” as constantly undergoing change. Therefore making a “self” imperceptible. My claim however, is that principals such as closure explain how individuals can distinguish a “self” through phenomenal experience – an idea that would not be dissimilar to constructing meaning through experience. Systematic investigations within my painting practice have allowed me to come to this conclusion. And, unlike more conventional forms of research, visual art opens up new ways to understand conceptual ideas that are not strictly data-driven. Instead, visual art (as well as philosophy) provide a space to nurture and understand ideas in a way that is as fluid as our ever-changing world.
Recommended Citation
Molnar, Spencer, "The Artistic and Philosophical Search" (2020). Art. 1.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/ursart/1
Notes
This project has not received IRB approval.