Description
Book SynopsisUsing many examples, this title considers the factors that determine the overall organization of visual form in works of painting, sculpture, and architecture.
Trade Review"Arnheim was a distinguished psychologist, philosopher and critic whose work explored the cognitive basis of art—how we interpret it and, by extension, the world." * Cabinet *
"It is the balance between the precision of [Arnheim's] specific analyses and their participation in a larger order of principles that makes
Power of the Center such a satisfying book." * ARTnews *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
I. TWO SPATIAL SYSTEMS
A master key to composition. Centricity and eccentricity. Vectors
and their targets. Interaction of the systems.
II. CENTERS AND THEIR RIVALS
Geometric and dynamic. The pull of gravity. The visual center
underneath. Varieties of weight.
Sculpture and the ground. Matisse under pressure.
III. THE VIEWER AS A CENTER
Self-centered vision. Various positions in space. A slab in suspense.
Seeing the world sideways. The viewer as an influence. Looking into depth.
IV. LIMITS AND FRAMES
Enclosures spread energy. Tampering with the range. The functions of frames.
Framed space not quite closed. Rectangular formats. Challenges to the middle.
Perspective creates a center.
V. TONDO AND SQUARE
Floating shapes. Tondi stress the middle. The role of eccentricity.
Disks inside. The oval. Squares balance the coordinates. Albers's nests of squares.
Mondrian overrides centricity. A square by Munch.
VI. CENTERS AS HUBS
Providing stability. Tension through deviation. Dynamics of the human figure.
Saltimbanques and Guernica.
VII. CENTERS AS DIVIDERS
Bipolar composition. The necessary latch. Diagonals. Noli me tangere.
VIII. VOLUMES AND NODES
Volumes and vectors interacting. Kinds of nodes. Nodes of the body. Faces and hands.
Singing man.
IX. SPACE IN DEPTH
Perceiving the third dimension. Objects behaving in space. Enclosures replacing frames.
The added view of projection. Continuity of space. What perspective contributes. Time in
space. The symbolism of the frontal plane.
X. CENTERS AND GRIDS IN BUILDINGS
Grids prevail. Design in elevation. Design on the ground. Coping with full space.
XI. FURTHERMORE
Composition in time. Are there exceptions? A physical foundation. Composition carries meaning.
Glossary
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
