Turbulent luminance in impassioned van Gogh paintings

We show that the patterns of luminance in some impassioned van Gogh paintings display the mathematical structure of fluid turbulence. Specifically, we show that the probability distribution function (PDF) of luminance fluctuations of points (pixels) separated by a distance R compares notably well with the PDF of the velocity differences in a turbulent flow, as predicted by the statistical theory of A.N. Kolmogorov. We observe that turbulent paintings of van Gogh belong to his last period, during which episodes of prolonged psychotic agitation of this artist were frequent. Our approach suggests new tools that open the possibility of quantitative objective research for art representation

The role of human motion processing complex, MT+, during sustained perception and attention

Thesis advisor: Scott D. SlotnickThe overarching aim of this dissertation is to examine the role of human motion processing complex, MT+ during sustained perception and attention. MT+ is comprised of sub-region MT, which processes motion in the contralateral visual field (i.e., left hemisphere MT processes motion in the right visual field and vice versa), and sub-region MST, which processes motion in both the contralateral and ipsilateral visual fields. Whereas previous transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) research has provided compelling evidence that region MT+ is necessary for low-level motion processing, Chapter 1 describes an experiment testing whether the sub-region MT is necessary for contralateral low-level motion processing. Chapter 2 describes an experiment that dissociates low-level sensory attentional modulation in MT+ from high-level attentional control processing in the parietal cortex (i.e., during sustained attention). Chapter 3 describes an experiment investigating the role of MT+ during aesthetic processing when viewing visual art. Importantly, this experiment tests whether the aesthetic is tied to not only low-level motion processing in MT+ but also high-level processing in frontal regions. Taken together, the results across the three experiments provide novel evidence for the role of MT+ during low-level motion processing during sustained perception and attention. Moreover, these low-level motion processing effects together with the observed high-level processes in frontal-parietal regions provide neural mechanisms for the cognitive processes of sustained perception and attention.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Psychology

Visual Hallucination For Computational Creation

Abstract Research on computational painters usually focuses on simulating rational parts of the generative process. From an art-historic perspective it is plausible to assume that also an arational process, namely visual hallucination, played an important role in modern fine art movements like Surrealism. The present work investigates this connection between creativity and hallucination. Using psychological findings, a three-step process of perception-based creativity is derived to connect the two phenomena. Insights on the neurological correlates of hallucination are used to define properties necessary for modelling them. Based on these properties a recent technique for feature visualisation in Convolutional Neural Networks is identified as a computational model of hallucination. Contrasting the thus enabled perception-based approach with the Painting Fool allows to introduce a distinction between two distinct creative acts, sketch composition and rendering. The contribution of this work is threefold: First, a computational model of hallucination is presented and discussed in the context of a computational painter. Second, a theoretic distinction is introduced that aligns research on different strands of computational creativity and captures the differences to current computational painters. Third, the case is made that computational methods can be used to simulate abnormal mental patterns, thus investigating the role that "madness" might play in creativity -instead of simply renouncing the myth of the mad artist

Fluid Dynamics of Watercolor Painting : Experiments and Modelling

In his classic study in 1908, A.M. Worthington gave a thorough account of splashes and their formation through visualization experiments. In more recent times, there has been renewed interest in this subject, and much of the underlying physics behind Worthington\u27s experiments has now been clarified. One specific set of such recent studies, which motivates this thesis, concerns the fluid dynamics behind Jackson Pollock\u27s drip paintings. The physical processes and the mathematical structures hidden in his works have received serious attention and have made the scientific pursuit of art a compelling area of exploration. Our current work explores the interaction of watercolors with watercolor paper. Specifically, we conduct experiments to analyze the settling patterns of droplets of watercolor paint on wet and frozen paper. Variations in paint viscosity, paper roughness, paper temperature, and the height of a released droplet are examined from time of impact, through its transient stages, until its final, dry state. Observable phenomena such as paint splashing, spreading, fingering, branching, rheological deposition, and fractal patterns are studied in detail and classified in terms of the control parameters. Using the one-dimensional (1-D) Saint-Venant differential equations, which are a simplification of the three-dimensional (3-D) Navier-Stokes equations from fluid dynamics, we created a computer-simulated, mathematical model of a droplet splash of watercolor paint onto a flat surface. The mathematical model is analyzed using a MATLAB code which considered changes in droplet height, radius, and velocity of dispersal over time. We also implemented a stochastic version of the Saint-Venant equations which captured the random fingering patterns of a droplet splash. Initial conditions for height, radius, and velocity of a radially spreading droplet were given at the onset of the simulation. Dynamic viscosity and fluid density were parameters incorporated into this system of differential equations, which could be easily adjusted in the MATLAB code for the paint type to be simulated. The stochastic nature of our model was designed to recreate the complex behavior of water splashes, the non-homogeneity of the watercolor paper, and the resulting patterns. We then computed the fractal dimension of each computer-generated droplet image to compare theoretical and experimental values. Analysis of the set of data consisting of over 10,000 trials was conducted to determine any significant statistical correlations among the spreading pattern, the number of fingers, viscosity, density and fractal dimension. Finally, we extended the system of differential equations based on the Saint-Venant equations to include the effects of temperature upon the paint-spreading pattern. In a similar manner, we compared the theoretical values of fractal dimensions generated by our MATLAB model to the experimental results for paint droplets on a frozen substrate

Sensible reason as a chance for a new type of education

RESUMEN: En las siguientes líneas se hará una crítica a la razón instrumental, imperante en el mundo actual, para proponer unas miradas de lo que debería ser la vida y, en consecuencia, exponer otro tipo de razón que deberían internalizar los sujetos, y en particular los estudiantes, en pro de alcanzar una nueva concepción de la sociedad y la educación. A esta se le denomina razón sensible, la cual tiene que ver con aprender a sentir, y pensar en el otro. Ella, se considera, es la precondición del actuar, ya que solo los capaces de concebir su existencia, pueden intervenir para transformar el mundo.ABSTARCT: A critique on instrumental reason, prevailing in the current world, will be made in the following lines, in order to suggest some perspectives on what life should be and, in consequence, to expound another type of reason that should be internalized by individuals, particularly students, with the aim of achieving a new understanding of society and education. This one is referred to as sensible reason, and is concerned about learning how to feel, and to think about the other. It, is considered, is the precondition for acting, since only the ones capable of conceiving its existence are able to transform the world

La razón sensible como posibilidad para un nuevo tipo de educación

En las siguientes líneas se hará una crítica a la razón instrumental, imperante en el mundo actual, para proponer unas miradas de lo que debería ser la vida y, en consecuencia, exponer otro tipo de razón que deberían internalizar los sujetos, y en particular los estudiantes, en pro de alcanzar una nueva concepciónde la sociedad y la educación. A esta se le denomina razón sensible, la cual tiene que ver con aprender a sentir, y pensar en el otro. Ella, se considera, es la precondición del actuar, ya que solo los capaces de concebir su existencia, pueden intervenir para transformar el mundo

Consiliência e a possibilidade do neurodireito: da desconfiança à reconciliação disciplinar

O artigo tem por objetivo revisitar a origem do afastamento disciplinar que ocorre entre as Ciências Naturais, Ciências Sociais e Humanidades. Esse afastamento levou ao atual modelo de hiperespecialização que, embora tenha impulsionado um notável avanço em cada uma das disciplinas, teve como consequência a fragmentação do próprio conhecimento e a perda da coerência entre cada uma dessas partes. Esse modelo mostra sinais de esgotamento, já que não é capaz nem enfrentar questões filosóficas fundamentais, nem tampouco de apresentar soluções satisfatórias para os grandes problemas humanos de contemporâneos. Nesse contexto, apresenta-se a Consiliência, que propõe a recuperação da coerência entre todos os ramos do conhecimento, tanto na tarefa de conhecer nossa própria humanidade, quanto na tarefa de apresentar respostas a esses grandes problemas. Como conclusão, percebeu-se que, para o Direito, esse movimento de aproximação pode ter consequências disruptivas, já que as explicações das Ciências Cognitivas para o comportamento humano podem desafiar noções fundamentais com as quais o Direito opera. Equacionar tudo isso é a tarefa que atribui-se ao Neurodireito. A originalidade do artigo reside na recuperação das origens para o afastamento disciplinar, e as razões para sua superação, sempre dentro do contexto do Direito. Essa revisão evidenciou a tarefa de tornar todo esse conhecimento coerente, ou consiliente. Dentro das Ciências Jurídicas, essa é a tarefa do Neurodireito

COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING OF HUMAN AESTHETIC PREFERENCES IN THE VISUAL DOMAIN: A BRAIN-INSPIRED APPROACH

Following the rise of neuroaesthetics as a research domain, computational aesthetics has also known a regain in popularity over the past decade with many works using novel computer vision and machine learning techniques to evaluate the aesthetic value of visual information. This thesis presents a new approach where low-level features inspired from the human visual system are extracted from images to train a machine learning-based system to classify visual information depending on its aesthetics, regardless of the type of visual media. Extensive tests are developed to highlight strengths and weaknesses of such low-level features while establishing good practices in the domain of study of computational aesthetics. The aesthetic classification system is not only tested on the most widely used dataset of photographs, called AVA, on which it is trained initially, but also on other photographic datasets to evaluate the robustness of the learnt aesthetic preferences over other rating communities. The system is then assessed in terms of aesthetic classification on other types of visual media to investigate whether the learnt aesthetic preferences represent photography rules or more general aesthetic rules. The skill transfer from aesthetic classification of photos to videos demonstrates a satisfying correct classification rate of videos without any prior training on the test set created by Tzelepis et al. Moreover, the initial photograph classifier can also be used on feature films to investigate the classifier’s learnt visual preferences, due to films providing a large number of frames easily labellable. The study on aesthetic classification of videos concludes with a case study on the work by an online content creator. The classifier recognised a significantly greater percentage of aesthetically high frames in videos filmed in studios than on-the-go. The results obtained across datasets containing videos of diverse natures manifest the extent of the system’s aesthetic knowledge. To conclude, the evolution of low-level visual features is studied in popular culture such as in paintings and brand logos. The work attempts to link aesthetic preferences during contemplation tasks such as aesthetic rating of photographs with preferred low-level visual features in art creation. It questions whether favoured visual features usage varies over the life of a painter, implicitly showing a relationship with artistic expertise. Findings display significant changes in use of universally preferred features over influential vi abstract painters’ careers such an increase in cardinal lines and the colour blue; changes that were not observed in landscape painters. Regarding brand logos, only a few features evolved in a significant manner, most of them being colour-related features. Despite the incredible amount of data available online, phenomena developing over an entire life are still complicated to study. These computational experiments show that simple approaches focusing on the fundamentals instead of high-level measures allow to analyse artists’ visual preferences, as well as extract a community’s visual preferences from photos or videos while limiting impact from cultural and personal experiences

Ante la sumisión del arte: el gesto como posibilidad emancipatoria en la condición póstuma

Este trabajo de investigación indaga en la importancia del gesto en la producción de la obra y como este, por su naturaleza, queda fuera de las redes del capitalismo, por lo que, el arte puede ser un instrumento para gestar obrando directamente en el mundo y emancipar el arte de la sumisión. Se analizaron: el gesto como medio sin fin desde Giorgio Agamben y la condición póstuma propuesta por Marina Garcés. A partir de esos autores se revisaron producciones de arte contemporáneo que incursionan en temas y acciones políticas que, si bien asumen y manifiestan una posición crítica ante la realidad, siguen sin obrar en el mundo. Por esta razón, se incursiona en las características de la operación artística, la obra y el artista, en cuyo gesto ejecutado por el artista se encuentra la posibilidad para la acción directa del arte en el mundo como medios para la emancipación. Un gesto que como ejecución surge desde la estética, pero cuya realización es un “medio sin fin” que obra políticamente. En consecuencia, a la operación artísticas le corresponde mediar entre el arte y el mundo, al artista le corresponde estar haciendo mundo y a la obra le corresponde obrar en el mundo. De esta manera se construyen operaciones artísticas, inmersas en la realidad, cuyos gestos median en el mundo a través del arte. Arte donde estética, y política se conjugan en la reconversión del mundo que, desde prácticas insumisas, cobran vida a través de cuerpos que están obrando en la realidad.MaestríaMagister en Filosofí