PERCEPTUAL AND AESTHETIC ASPECTS OF THE MOVEMENT RESPONSE*RUDOLF
ARNHEIMSaraJi Lawrence College
Psychologists speak of movement responses to the Rorschach cards
Artists assert that in pictures or sculpture the forms and colors
"move " Such statements contain a paradox since they attribute
movement to visual patterns m which no physical locomotion occurs
What is the nature and ongin of these psychological reactions'
First of all, in most cases the movement response does not seem to
involve the illusion of actual locomotion Probably very few people
see the "pink bears" in Rorschach Card VIII as actually climbing
upward Nor do the angels in Tintoretto's paintings look as though
they were really propelled through the pictorial space The movement
response is a different perceptual phenomenon, which IS hard to
descnbe, even though it is clear and strong enough as a common
experience. Visual forms are striving in certain directions They
contain directed tensions They represent a happening rather than a
being All this occurs without the sensation of displacement in
space Empinsttc explanation Illusions of locomotion do occur But
except for such specific phenomena as the autokmetic effect, which
requires an unstructured field, they are rare and weak The
traditional psychological approach does not distinguish between
illusions of locomotion and what we shall call "visual dynamics "^
The explanation is empinstic and has essentially two versions The
movement response is said to presuppose that the observer
recognizes, in the pictorial forms, objects which he has previously
seen m motion, such as a galloping horse or running water By means
of association he endows the percept with motion A first objection
to this theory can be derived from the common observation that some
pictures of moving bodies give the dynamicThe writer is mdebted to
Dr Kurt Badt, London, for some of the bibliographic references *
Throughout this paper the term "movement" denotes visual dynamics,
not the Ulusicai of locomotion
266
RUDOLF ARNHEIM
effect, while others do not Scmie snapshots of football players
show intense action, while in others the figures look awkwardly
arrested in mid-air In a good work of sculpture or painting, bodies
swmg freely In a bad one, they tnay be stiff and rigid.* These
differences are observed although the good and the bad pictures ha\
equal chances of being associated with past experiences. This
objection can be met by a second, more refined version of the
onfMnstic theory, according to which the associations are not based
on the objects as such (horses, water) but on the shapes,
directions, bnghtness values, etc., by which objects are
represented in the picture From everyday experience certain
perceptual phencMnena are known to be ccHinected with movement and
objects that move. For instance, movement through water leaves a
wedgediaped trace. Boats, arrows, birds, airj^anes, motor cars are
outlined, wholly or in parts, by ccmvergmg straight hnes or curves
Similarly, any obliqtie position of an object indicates potential
physical motion since it deviates from the zero-positi(is of
hanging or lying cm the ground. An obliqtK object is often in
process of actually moving toward the vertical or horizontal
positicms of rest Again, shaded brightness values are observed in
fast moving objects, such as wheels, cars, flags, arms, legs.
Therefore, according to this version oi the empiristic theear stiff
in a woric of larger or higher dynamic scale, for instance, m a
painting hy Ver(M)ese Hence the frequent mismterpretotions of
dynamic qualities, by which a cntic calls a Byzantine mosaic
lifeless or a Baroque cdhng overexcited, because he apjdies his own
scale of movement to works conceived in another Perceptual
condittons Some references have alrtaAy been made to the particular
perceptual factors that go with visual dynamics Since no
S3rstematic investigation of these factors seems to have been made,
oat can only refer to the findmgs of \txiai individual observers,
as they are available in the field of the arts For example,
Heinrich Wolfflin has analyzed the architecture, sculpture, and
pamdi^s of the Itahan Baroque style One of the basic
characteristics of this style, acxording to him, is movement ( H )
. Among the formal traits of the Baroque style, Wolfflin notices a
"tension in the i>ric^>ortions," expressed, for instance, in
die change from drxnilar to dot^ted shape, irom the square to the
rectai^. He finds a "sense of directicm." Also, there is ample use
of convergent and divergent shapes as wdl as of curved cxmtours and
surfaces. Instead of the ng^t angle, softly fluent transitions lead
from one direction to another. Juxtaposition of elements is
rej^aced by overlapping In the representati(i of the hunuui figure,
the limbs do not act independently and freely but draw the rest of
the body into the movement Tht development from Remussance to
Baroque style is characterize by an increase of movement. A similar
devdoptnent can be traced in Gredc sculpture. In the latter case,
tl^ ccnnpositton of
PEKCEPTUAL ASPECTS OF THE MOVEMENT SESPONSE
271
the early worics is hased cm the vertical and horizontal. The
frontal orientation of the figures makes for symmetry. The limbs
are at rest or only slightly active. Later, the movement factor is
enhanced by an increasing use of oblique directions. The posture of
the figure becomes asymmetrical, the body is twisted, the spatial
onentaticm of the planes changes throughout. Curved lines and
volumes become more frequent, and forms overlap There are constant
turns of direction. The limbs are bent and active No detailed
analysis of these and c^her movement factors can be given here.
However, it may be pointed out that gradients of perceptual
qualities seem to make for movement. Every wedgeshaped form
involves a gradual mcrease or decrease of size If the ccmtours of
such a form are curved rather than straight, the gradual change of
size accelerates, and the movement effect is thus enhanced. More
generally, oblique direction can be ^fined d3mamically as a gradual
withdrawal from, or a^^roximadcm of, the zero-positions of the
vertical or horizontal Shading, which also makes for movement,
represents a gradient of brightness valties When form units
overlap, movement results from the tension created by the
incompleteness of the covered units. The tendency to re-establish
completeness by pullmg the overlapping umts apart IS experienced as
a dynamic effect.* 31^ movements It has been pointed out that
illusory locomotion of perceptual units is not identical with the
dynamic effect but rather tends to block it Under certain
conditions, however, the time sequence inherent in the act of
perception will produce an animation effect. If one looks rapidly
through a series of Muybndge's snapshots, the scanning movement of
the eye produces a motion picture-like successicm of {biases. As
the eye shifts along the senes of twelve pictures, one sees a man
leap or catch a ball.
This animation effect can also be found in works of art. In
PeterBniegel's painting of the blind men guiding each other to
disaster, the row of six figures represents pn^ressive phases of
the same action. The eye of the ol^erver, by scamung the picture
from left to right, transforms space into time and records
successively the"The cotkBtions of the tfynamic effect are closely
related to those of deptii percept}(m. In certaia configuratusu,
teiuions in two-dimeooial patterns can be relieved by
three-dimensioniU percq>tion of the same sdmuh The visual
dynanucs of depth percqptioo will be discuucd m a future paper.
272
RUDOLF ARNHEIM
acts of walking, stumbling, and, falling into the brook Auguste
Rodin, in his conversations with Paul Gsell, mentions similar
cases, for instance, that of Watteau's Embarkment for Cythera (12)
He also maintains that such precessions are frequently created by
the artist within the body of one figure As the observer's eye
moves alcHig the figure, he sees one posture turning into another
or inactivity changing into action If one arm of a statue hangs
downward while the other is lifted, the observer integrates the two
positions into successive phases of the motion of lifting One can
go further and show that the scanning of a wedge-shaped form will
produce a time sequence of decreasing or increasing size and thus
convey the locomotor effect of contraction or expansion However, it
is important to realize that this animation effect is identical
neither with what we have called visual dynamics nor with the
illusion of locomotion Attempts to exf^ain visual dynamics by
actual or potential eye movements will only confuse the issue When
the moving glance connects a spatial sequence of phases into a
temporal sequence, the resulting motion-like expenence is quite
different from the perception of directed tension within a pattern
or the illusion of its actual displacement m space As the glance
moves along the dynamic axis of a pattern it may reinforce the
movement inherent m the fttem itself But the photographic
recordings of eye movements have shown that the trace of the
scanning glance is quite erratic and that it follows the
compositional lines of the picture only occasionally, for instance,
when the whole is dominated by one or two striking features (5)
Also, most pictonal patterns consist of so many divergent movements
that an attempt to scan them separately, even if successful, would
never lead to a unified grasp of the whole Eye movements serve
essentially to change the fixation point, that IS, to bring the
various areas of the perceptual object successively into the focus
of sharp vision Subject matter We have dealt with the form factors
which determme visual dynamics regardless of what the observer
knows about the nature of the objects represented This seems
justified in that no difference in principle exists, in a painted
landscape, between the movement perceived m the sinuous contour of
a coastline or the shape of the waves The swinging outline of a
beret m a Rembrandt portrait can be just as dynamic as the skirt of
a dancer
PERCEPTUAL ASPECTS OF THE MOVEMENT RESPONSE
273
drawn by Toulouse-Lautrec, even though the beret is known to be
motionless, while the skirt is known to be moving Also, it has been
pomted out that no knowledge will produce the movement effect
unless the proper perceptual features are present However,
knowledge can play a role m stressing the basis, or zero-position,
from which the given pictorial form represents a deviation The
raised arms of a man convey stronger visual d)mamics than the
branches of a tree or an abstract pattern rising at the same angle
because the man's arms are understood as being lifted from their
normal hanging position The elongated faces in El Greco's or
Modigliani's paintings have stronger dynamics than an abstract oval
of the same shape because they are seen as distortions of the
normal face In these cases, the interaction between memory traces
and the given percept intensifies the dynamic tension Gestalt
exfdanatton. It was mentioned before that the perceptual cntena for
the presence of the movement effect fit the second version of the
empinstic theory quite well However, an objection to the theory was
also raised (p 266) As an alternative, the following theory may be
derived from the gestalt approach In a previous paper the question
was raised as to whether there IS any reason to assume that only
the effects of the physiological processes which lead to perceptual
organization are reflected m perceptual experience Why should not
the strains and stresses of the cortical forces themselves also
have their psychological counterpart' Accordingly, expression was
defined as "the psychological counterpart of the dynamic processes
which result in the organization of perceptual stimuli" (1, p 163).
Expression is closely related to visual dynamics The theory that
the movement effect psychologically reflects the stresses of
electro-chemical forces m the cortical field of vision is a purely
hjrpothetical suggestion for the construction of the kind of
"pseudo-bram model" which Tolman has recently called inevitable and
desirable (4, p 48)." But the following discussion of Rorschach's
M-response will show that the adoption of such a theory, which
would make movement an integral feature of the percept itself, may
have practical consequences' The undeniable similarity between the
perceptual features which go with physical moticm and those which
make for the psychological movement effect may be explainable in
gestalt terms by the fact that similar configurations of forces
could be expected to occur in physical and in psychological
processes
274
KUDOLF ABNHEIM
Rorschach's theory. Hermann Rorschach (13) defines the Mresponse
as the "feeling of movement" (Erfuhlung der Bewegung) which an
observer derives from a pictorial form when his interpretation is
determined not only by the shape of the object but by kinesthetic
"affluents" (Zuflusse). Whether pr not, m his view, the experience
involves the illusion of actual locomotion is not dear But he
stress^ the difference between the "feeling of movement" and the
mere apperception of form, which only secondarily is interpreted as
being in motion. Rorschach's implicit psychological assumptions,
which are based on traditional theories of perception, can be
formulated as follows The percepticm of a pictonal pattern cannot
furnish anything but static form Therefore, the element of movement
can rome in only as a contribution of the observer's past
experience The observer may interpret the perceived form as an
object which by its nature and posture is known to be in a state of
movement (a flying bird, a bowing waiter) He therefore draws the
conclusion that the perceived thmg is in motion Such a reaction is
not scored as an M-response by Rorschach since in this case the
movement factor derives simply from an mtellectual inference In
other cases, however, the identification of the perceived form with
an object in movement provokes empathy in the observer He feels in
his own body the kind of musctilar sensation which, by analogy to
his past experience, he assumes to be felt by the flying bird or
the bowing waiter This is the M-response As a rule, it will be
provoked only by human figures or animals with "human-like"
movements (bears, monkeys); but, says Rorschach, occasionally there
are subjects who are capable also of kinesthetic empathy with
animals of any kind, i^ants, and even geometrical figures and
single lines Rorschach's clinical evaluation of the M-response is
directly related to his assumptions about die perceptual process.
If the M-response is due to an endowmoit of the percej^ with
subjective sensations, then a person who offera many M-responses
can be expected to be one who is nch in associations, meets
observations with productive ideas, and has a fertile imagination.
In other words, an abundance of M-responses will be characteristic
of people who concentrate cm their thoughts and, often, their
fantasies. They will be absorbed by their inner moital life rather
than adapting
PERCEPTUAL ASPECTS 6V THE MOVEMENT RESPONSE
275
themsdves to the outside world According to Rorsdiach, this
expectation is essentially borne out by his clinical findings *
There is, then, a deasive difference between Rorschach's theory and
the one presented in this paper. Rorschach holds that the fedmg of
movement is nothing but kmesthetic empathy. We maintain that it IS
an inherent featiu-e of visual perception ltsdf Kinesthesis The
widespread notion that the dynamic components of perception can be
explamed only as contributions of the muscle sense is probably due
to the tadt assumption that the impact of physical forces cannot be
expenenced except when these forces act within the observer's body
Thus, when someone watches a bird m fli^t, the energies which
produce the flight are in the body of the bird and therefore
inaccessible to the observer But when musdes contract or expand
within his own body, he can become aware of them A moment's
reflection shows that this view is due to a confusion of physical
and psychological facts The immediate basis of any percept, whether
visual or kmesthetic, is the stimulation of the relative bram
centers. As far as stimulaticm is concemed, it makes no difference
whether the jrfiysical processes which activate the sensory nerves
are located within the body of the observer or outside It In
neither case are these {Aysical forces directly "accessible" to
perception If we assume that the visual stimulus obtained by the
observation of a bird m flight offers nothing but a configuration
of such formal properties as shape, color, and locomotion, then
there is no reason to assume that a kmesthetic stimulus transmits
anything but similar formal properties, namely, those which
correspond to the disfdacxment of muscular tissue, joints, and'
tendons (extension, ccmtraction). If, however, we beheve that m
addition to these purdy formal qualities the kinesthetic
stimulation involves dynamic factors, which show up psychologically
as expenences of toision or distension, we cannot think of these
dynamic factors naively as a direct grasp af muscular energies but
must assume that dynamic properties of the situation created by the
stimtilation of the projection areas in the bram find their
cotmterpart m the kinesthetic percept. Now in that case there is no
reason* Recent develtual inspection of the cards shows that stron^y
dynamic forms prevail throughout. This is due to the fact that the
blots were produced by mechanical pressure exerted on liquid paint.
Card I is full of obliqudy oriented wedges. In
280
RUDOLF ARNHEIM
Cards IV and V, a large inverted V-shape tends to dominate the
whole On the other hand, the strength of the vertical and
horizontal directions makes for the relative stiffness of Card VI
The strong crescendo effect of curves can be observed, for
instance, in the central white goblet of Card IX In Card VI, the
shading of brightness values produces strong movement, which is
enhanced by Its three-dimensional quality Ambiguity of direction
can be studied m the top triangle of Card VIII, which shows
contradictory dynamics depending on whether one sees the
upward-soaring peak or the downward-pressing wings The movement
associated with the subject matter is sometimes enhanced by
perceptual qualities, for instance, in the swinging curve of the
bowing waiters of Card III, whereas the climbing bears of Card VIII
are pathetically short of visible pep The symmetry of the patterns
has two important effects on movement It reinforces each dynamic
form by duplication and at the same time provides balance Each unit
is "pinned down" by its opposite number, which, according to the
preceding discussion of balance (p 267), thus fulfills one
condition for the free unfolding of d)maniic properties Clinical
value of percepts Rorschach dmiaans use the "populanty" of
responses as an objective basis for the evaluation of individual
behavior A perceptual analysis of the cards would allow a
comparison of individual interpretations with the objective
properties of the stimuli For instance, the degree of visual
dynamics inherent in each pattern as a whole, as well as in parts,
could be determined with some accuracy by af^lication of the
perceptual cnteria which make for movement This would provide a
yardstick for measuring the extent to which a response conforms to,
or deviates from, the stimulus If perceptual organization is the
counterpart of personality organization, as Kkin and Schlesinger
have recently suggested (4, p 32), the most direct and striking
reflection of the testee's personality might be the visual
structure which he finds in the mkblots Rorschach dmicians pay some
attenticwi to perceptual properties with regard to color and
shading, but they obtain information on whole vs detail responses
and on movement only mdirectlyand therefore quite
incompletely^through the content interpretations offered by the
observers
PERCEPTUAL ASPECTS OF THE MOVEMENT RESPONSE
281
The question would be What kind of pattem does the observer see
when he looks at the card^ Just as some artists interpret their
environment by strongly dynamic forms while others prefer
relatively static ones, testees could be expected to find
significantly different degrees of visual dynamics in each mkblot
as a whole and in Its parts For instance, is Card I seen
essentially as a combination of three vertical blocks or as a
system of soaring diagonals'" Is Card VII essentially a quiet
U-shape or a conglomeration of mobile units, which fly in all
directions' The modifying influence of the search for subject
matter hides this basic response Finally, it would be desirable to
separate testees with strong movement responses into those who
react mamly to the visual dynamic properties inherent in the
percept and those others who rely mainly on subjective tensions
aroused by empathy The problem of what practical procedures will
make such information available to the clinician is, of course,
open to discussion.REFEKENCES
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