Examining art: dissociating pattern and perceptual influences on oculomotor behaviour.

Full Abstract

When observing art the viewer's understanding results from the interplay between the marks made on the surface by the artist and the viewer's perception and knowledge of it. Here we use a novel set of stimuli to dissociate the influences of the marks on the surface and the viewer's perceptual experience upon the manner in which the viewer inspects art. Our stimuli provide the opportunity to study situations in which (1) the same visual stimulus can give rise to two different perceptual experiences in the viewer, and (2) the visual stimuli differ but give rise to the same perceptual experience in the viewer. We find that oculomotor behaviour changes when the perceptual experience changes. Oculomotor behaviour also differs when the viewer's perceptual experience is the same but the visual stimulus is different. The methodology used and insights gained from this study offer a first step toward an experimental exploration of the relative influences of the artist's creation and viewer's perception when viewing art and also toward a better understanding of the principles of composition in portraiture.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Tatler, Benjamin W (BW); Wade, Nicholas J (NJ); Kaulard, Kathrin (K);

Affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN, UK. b.w.tatler(-atsign-)dundee.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Spatial vision (Spat Vis), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-; vol 21 (issue 1-2) : pp 165-84

Dates: Created 2007/12/12; Completed 2008/03/25;

PMID: 18073057, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Eye Movements - physiology
Form Perception - physiology
Humans

Oculomotor Muscles - physiology
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Portraits as Topic

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

Neural correlates of shape-from-shading. 27 Feb 2006
Temporary incyclotorsion following surgical correction of bilateral superior oblique palsy. 20 Nov 2006
Sex differences in neural mechanisms underlying implicit symmetry processing. 30 Jul 2006
Gillies Lecture: ocular motility in a time of paradigm shift. 29 Nov 2006
The pen, the pencil, and the inferior oblique. 30 Jan 2007
Sex differences in viewing sexual stimuli: an eye-tracking study in men and women. 10 Feb 2007
Effects of object complexity and type on the gaze behavior of children with pervasive developmental disorder. 10 Jul 2007
Are changes in semantic and structural information sufficient for oculomotor capture? 15 Sep 2007
Surgical management of large-angle incomitant strabismus in patients with oculomotor nerve palsy. 27 Oct 2007
More respect for connective tissues. 30 Jan 2008

See 100+ related articles.