Figure 2.1. René Magritte, 1928 The Lovers (Les Amants), oil on canvas, 54 cm x 73 cm, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Stage What happens Example

1Light is taken into eye and converted to neural codes

Look at The Lovers by Magritte (Figure 2.1)

2

Eye and brain process neural codes•Objects\shapes are identified•Figure is differentiated from backgorund

•A man and woman stand together, facing the viewer in the foreground.•A pastoral scene is in the background with trees and grass.

3

Brain associations occur•Personal memories (episodic)•General knowledge (semantic)

•I was at a funeral of my aunt when my parents were dressed like this.•The clothing of the couple is for a formal occasion in 20th Century.

Stages in Cognitive Model for Perceiving Art(Solso, 1994)

Figure 2.2. Robert Solso's (1994) model with three cognitive stages for perceiving art.

PIXELS of image

DOTS are perceived by eye

LINES are made up of connected dots

EDGES are seen asboundaries of OBJECTS

Objects are seen as parts of a SCENE

Viewers give MEANING to the scene

STEPS IN PERCEPTION WHERE IT HAPPENS (Solso's Stage 2) ( PROBABLY )

Outside world – image itself reflects light

eye – retina (3 layers of neurons)

eye – retina & subcortex structure called the thalamus

Cortex – occipital lobe, visual receiving area & inferior temporal (IT) lobe

Cortex – inferior temporal lobe and medial temporal lobe (MT)

All brain – IT, MT lobes, frontal lobes, subcortex

Figure 2.3. Model of six steps of visual and cognitive processing of an image along with its probable location in the nervous system. This model is used by perceptual psychologists and neuroscientists.

Figure 2.4. (a) Anatomical tracings of three differently-shaped neurons: A is a pyramidal cell, B is a spiny stellate neuron, and C is a Purkinje cell found in abundance in the cerebellum brain structure. (b) Parts of a neuron in schematic drawing: (1) dendrites, (2) cell body, and (3) axon leading to cell B.

A

B

C

Dendrites receiving impulses from previous neurons

Cell body

Axon

Figure 2.5. Calvin and Hobbes illustrating how a neural impulse is an all-or-none event of energy output.

Figure 2.6. (a) A seascape photograph. (b) Brightness map of the photo of the sea representing the neural coding of brightness, color and orientation of image (Parkhurst et al., 2002).