Introduction to Art: Design, Context, and Meaning offers a deep insight and comprehension of the world of Art. Contents: What is Art? The Structure of Art Significance of Materials Used in Art Describing Art - Formal Analysis, Types, and Styles of Art Meaning in Art - Socio-Cultural Contexts, Symbolism, and Iconography Connecting Art to Our Lives Form in Architecture Art and Identity Art and Power Art and Ritual Life - Symbolism of Space and Ritual Objects, Mortality, and Immortality Art and Ethics

Hvad sker der i hjernen, når vi betragter et kunstværk eller lytter til et stykke musik? Og hvordan forklarer vi i det hele taget de domme, vi fælder over det skønne, det grimme, kunsten? Neuroæstetik er en ny, tværfaglig disciplin, der kombinerer filosofisk æstetik, neurobiologi og eksperimentel psykologi for at kunne forklare, hvorfor vi oplever nogle stimuli som tiltalende og andre som utiltalende. Med antologien An Introduction to Neuroaesthetics foreligger nu en bred indføring i neuroæstetikken, dens genstandsfelt og undersøgelsesmetoder. Bogens bidragydere er ledende forskere fra både ind- og udland, der på forskellig vis undersøger hjernemekanismerne bag kunstnerisk erfaring. Antologien indledes med en gennemgang af neuroæstetikkens videnskabelige rødder og væsentligste metoder og teorier. Herefter præsenteres en række studier af forholdet mellem biologiske stimuli og æstetisk oplevelse: fra ansigter og landskaber til litteratur og film; fra steder og arkitektur til musik og dans. Ved at kombinere data fra den nyeste teknologi med nogle af filosofiens ældste dilemmaer bygger antologien bro mellem to traditionelt adskilte felter – naturvidenskaben og humaniora – og giver et kvalificeret bud på, hvordan vi kan nærme os en forståelse af den æstetiske erfaring. Jon O. Lauring er cand.mag. i kunsthistorie og idéhistorie. Han er i øjeblikket gæsteforsker ved BRAINlab, Institut for Neurovidenskab og Farmakologi, Panum Instituttet, Københavns Universitet. Bidragydere: Marcos Nadal / Antoni Gomila / Alejandro Gálvez-Pol / Helmut Leder / Pablo P. L. Tinio / Jon O. Lauring / Alumit Ishai / Nicolai Rostrup / Jens Hjortkjær / David S. Miall / Torben Grodal / Mette Kramer / Beatriz Calvo-Merino / Julia F. Christensen / Bartlomiej Piechowski-Jozwiak / Julien Bogousslavsky / Oshin Vartanian. Advances in cognitive science have had a tremendous philosophical impact, offering new ways of thinking about topics such as who we are, what we know, and how we feel. But few topics are murkier—and have more to gain from cognitive science—than aesthetics. With this volume, Jon O. Lauring offers a cutting-edge introduction to the emerging field of neuroaesthetics. Gathering works from leading scholars all across the globe, the volume surveys the many ways we have taken what we have learned about our brains and nervous system and applied it to new understandings of art, beauty, and creativity. The contributors explore the biological underpinnings of aesthetic experience from a variety of angles. Opening with a look at neuroaesthetics’s historical antecedents and an outline of methods and theories, the book goes on to address a fascinating assortment of studies on biological stimuli and art, from faces and landscapes to literature and film, from places and architecture to music and dance. Simultaneously exploring data from the latest brain-imaging technology and addressing some of our most enduring philosophical quandaries, this volume offers a comprehensive look at a pivotal moment in aesthetics, which grows richer every day with new questions. Jon O. Lauring, MA in history of art and the history of ideas, is currently guest researcher at BRAINlab, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen. Contributors: Marcos Nadal, Antoni Gomila, Alejandro Gálvez-Pol, Helmut Leder, Pablo P. L. Tinio, Jon O. Lauring, Alumit Ishai, Nicolai Rostrup, Jens Hjortkjær, David S. Miall, Torben Grodal, Mette Kramer, Beatriz Calvo-Merino, Julia F. Christen-sen, Bartlomiej Piechowski-Jozwiak, Julien Bogousslavsky, Oshin Vartanian.

This book is more than an introduction to the psychology of art appreciation, it puts into perspective the research carried out within the area and offers a new understanding of the relationship between art and viewer. A number of studies within the psycho-physical, cognitive, psychoanalytic, and existential-phenomenological schools of thought are presented in order to demonstrate how their views on the appreciation of visual art vary. Five different types of art appreciation, ranging from a spontaneous preference for a work of art to a blissful experience of trancendence, are identified and described.