The Art of Seeing: An Interpretation of the Aesthetic Encounter

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Summary: Insightful study of visual art and the aesthetic experience
Review: "The Art of Seeing" is a study of the aesthetic experience through the lens of Csikszentmihalyi's "flow" theory of experiences which, somewhat ironically, have been given the technical description of autotelic experiences. The text begins with a discussion of some philosophy and psychology of art that leads into the development of a conceptual model of the aesthetic experience built around the four dimensions of perception, emotion, intellectual engagement, and communication. The bulk of the work consists of the quantitative analysis and interpretation of interviews with museum professionals. The authors further discuss the model in the context of the data, and make recommendations on how museums can better serve their mission.

Although the book seems aimed at museums (the study was done at the behest of the Getty and published by the Getty Press), I found the "flow" model of the aesthetic experience to be quite enlightening, and useful in increasing the quality of my own aesthetic encounters.

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Summary: THE FLOW NETWORK
Review: Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com