-
What is Max Wertheimer's famous statement that
describes his Gestalt theory?
“The whole is different from the sum of its parts.”
-
What are
the four fundamental principles of grouping which allow the brain to understand
a scene? Be able to describe each.
- Similarity: objects that look
- similar will be automatically grouped together by the brain
- Proximity: the brain more
- closely associate objects close to each other than it does two objects that are
- farther apart
- Continuation: the brain does
- not prefer sudden or unusual changes in the movement of a line; seeks a smooth
- continuation
- Common Fate: direct a viewer’s
- eyes toward or away from a graphic element in a picture or design
-
Who helped invent a genre of photography known as
"snapshot aesthetic"?
Diane Arbus
-
How did
Gestalt help change the front page layouts of newspapers? Be able to describe
the layouts before and after the theory.
- Before: newspapers were a
- mind-numbing collection of grey words on a page separated by columns, with a
- small headline and smaller subheads, no pictures or breaks
- After: varied collection of
- different sized headlines, columns, and pictures; easily differentiated.
-
Why has the
gestalt approach been criticized?
- For describing perceptions rather than giving
- explanations of how these perceptions actually give meaning to an image.
-
What is
Semiotics? Who was one of the first people to propose this? (Hint: His name
contains that of an animal.)
- Semiotics is the study or science of signs ;
- Augustine of Hippo.
-
Who is considered to be the founder of the field of
semiotics?
Ferdinand de Saussure
-
What are
the three types of signs? Be able to give an example of each?
- Iconic Signs: they most closely
- resemble the thing they are meant to represent ; example: cave paintings of
- animals
- Indexical Signs: have a
- logical, common sense connection to the thing or idea they represent rather
- than a direct resemblance to the object ; example: the sun’s shadow implies the
- movement of time, footprints
- Symbolic Signs: have to be
- taught, social and cultural
- considerations influence them greatly ; example: flags, logos, music
-
What are Asa Berger's four types of codes? Be able
to describe each and give an example of each.
- Metonymic Code: a collection of
- signs that cause the viewer to make assumptions about what is seen ; example: a
- magazine ad for cotton comforters
- Analogical Code: a group of
- signs that cause the viewer to make mental comparisons ; example: figures of
- speech
- Displaced Code: a transfer of
- meaning from one set of signs to another ; example: liquor, lipstick, and
- cigarettes linked with possible sexual conquest
- Condensed Code: several signs
- that combine to form a new, composite message ; example: televised music videos
- and the advertisements
-
What are the mental activities cultural anthropologist
Carolyn Bloomer identified which affect visual perception?
- Memory, projection, expectation, selectivity,
- habituation, salience, dissonance, culture, and words.
|
|
