The Extent Which Perception is Involved In Our Understanding of Objectivity

TL;DR

The 19th century saw a shift in art from reproducing reality to expressing individual perception, coinciding with advancements in science.

Transcript

there was a moment in our history of art that people just painting like a photographer reproducing form and shaping very precise and there was how an artist was rewarded by basically reproducing what is out here in great detail and suddenly at the beginning of the 19th century and that's the painting I brought from Turner you know shape he starts b... Read More

Key Insights

• 🧑‍🎨 The 19th century marked a shift in art, where artists moved from reproducing reality to expressing their own perception and perspective.
• 👾 This shift coincided with scientific advancements in physics, where the understanding of space expanded from the microscopic to the cosmic.
• 🧑‍🎨 Artists like Turner and the Impressionists emphasized the challenges of capturing perception and the subjective nature of our understanding of objectivity.
• 🥰 The intersection of art and science during this era reflects a shared exploration of boundaries and perspectives.
• 〽️ Turner's painting and the Impressionist movement marked the beginning of a new era in art, focusing on individual perception rather than objective representation.
• 🛰️ The disappearance of space in art mirrored scientific revolutions in physics, challenging traditional notions of perception and reality.
• 🧑‍🎨 Artists of this period recognized the subjectivity and partiality of their perspectives, but did not claim that their art purely expressed their own brains.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the significance of Turner's painting in the 19th century art movement?

Turner's painting marked the beginning of the Impressionist movement, where artists aimed to paint what they saw and experienced internally, rather than reproducing external reality. This departure from traditional techniques and focus on perception sparked a major shift in art.

Q: How does the disappearance of space in 19th-century art correlate with advancements in science?

The disappearance of space in art coincided with scientific discoveries in physics. The investigation of the very small and the very large, from atomic theories to quantum mechanics and general relativity, expanded our understanding of space. This parallel evolution in art and science demonstrates a common exploration of boundaries and perspectives.

Q: Were 19th-century artists claiming that their art was purely subjective?

While artists acknowledged the subjectivity and partiality of their perspectives, they were not claiming that their art was purely a product of their own brains. Instead, they aimed to capture the difficulties of perception and the role it plays in our understanding of objectivity. Their art reflected a collision between external reality and the brain's own point of view.

Q: How does the intersection of what is outside and inside the brain influence our perception?

According to the neuroscientist's perspective, our perception is a result of the collision between external stimuli and the brain's own expectations of reality. It is a synthesis of what is out there and what the brain perceives, blending the objective and subjective aspects of perception.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• In the 19th century, artists moved away from reproducing reality and began expressing their own perception through art.

• This shift coincided with advancements in science, particularly in physics, where the understanding of space expanded from the microscopic to the cosmic.

• Artists like Turner and the Impressionists emphasized the difficulty of capturing perception and the subjectivity involved in our understanding of objectivity.