Abstract: | Gestalt psychology was the foundation of Rudolf Arnheim's approach to art. Reviewing Arnheim's long and productive career, it becomes useful to assess his relationship to the evolving theory. By paying special attention to the issues of (1) perceptual abstraction and visual thinking, (2) perceptual dynamics and expression, and (3) perceptual "goodness" and beauty, it can be seen the degree to which Arnheim actually altered the basis of the general theory of Gestalt psychology, affirming the centrality of art in its purview. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |