Geomantic mapping of the human body in Japanese landscape design

Harmony between the forces of nature and human activity was of great concern throughout the history of Japan. The divination of these important forces were governed through a canon of geomantic landscape design principles that developed significantly during the medieval Heian era (794-1185). In a nutshell, spaces for human occupation – whether at the scale of an entire city or an individual household – are divided into two bilateral symmetrical halves organized around a central longitudinal axis. Spaces are ranked hierarchically along the central axis. This type of physical setting intuitively albeit very loosely resembles human anatomy. One possible interpretation is that the central axis of symmetry typifies the central axis of the body from head to feet, with the highest function placed at one end. We suggest that the resemblance of this mapping to the human body and its repetition at various spatial scales enable its human inhabitants to more intuitively relate to their surroundings, whether in their own dwellings, neighbourhoods or at the level of the city as a whole.Om harmonie tussen natuurkragte en menslike aktiwiteit te bewerkstelling, was nog altyd vir die Japanese van groot belang. Die toekomsvoorspelling van die uitwerking van hierdie belangrike kragte op landskapontwerp is deur ’n kanon van geomantiese beginsels beheer, wat tydens die middeleeuse Heian-era (794-1185) aansienlik ontwikkel is. Kortliks gestel, word ruimtes vir menslike bewoning – hetsy op die skaal van ’n volledige stad of ’n indiwiduele huishouding – verdeel in twee bilaterale simmetriese helftes wat om ’n sentrale lengte-as gerangskik word. Ruimtes word hiërargies langs die sentrale as geplaas. Hierdie soort fisieke rangordelike rangskikking toon ’n losse ooreenkoms met menslike anatomie. Een moontlike interpretasie is dat die sentrale as wat simmetrie bepaal, op die middellyn van die liggaam van kop tot voete dui, met die hoogste funksie aan die een eindpunt. Vandaar ons afleiding dat die ooreenkoms tussen hierdie kartering en die menslike liggaam, asook die herhaling daarvan op verskillende ruimtelike skale, die menslike inwoners in staat stel om hulle meer intuitief met hulle omgewing, hetsy in hulle eie wonings, woonbuurtes of ten opsigte van die stad as geheel, te vereenselwig

The Ethereal Veil of Visual Perception

The rich palette of perceptual effects elicited from simple patterns of black and white lines—such as the paintings of op artists—underlines just how much science still needs to unravel before the complexity of visual perception is fully understood. In this presentation, I would like to show how a few of the more subtle and some of the most salient perceptual effects experienced in black and white line patterns can be interpreted as a concerted outcome of various very early stages of visual processing. Specifically, what seem to be complex effects can be simulated with relatively simple models. The effects bear witness to the intuitive skill with which the artists wield considerable visual impact on their canvas. Scientific scrutiny, of their art and of the possible visual processing involved, leads to new insight into the perceptual complexity experienced in these deceptively simple paintings. In a sense, their works present the construction of an ephemeral canvas within stripes of black and white paint

Distilling an image of nature from Japanese Zen gardens

Humans are not only adapted to nature, but also adapt their domestic environment to suit their own needs. Here, I suggest that Japanese Zen gardens uniquely bridge these different formative spheres of our perceptual evolution by maintaining sufficient visual complexity through the use of natural components to satisfy our natural sensory and perceptual needs, while doing so in a completely artificial environment. Rather than nature being the ‘best’ design for human perception, I suggest that it is our perceptual and cognitive brain systems that are ‘best’ designs, suited for the ecological niches from which we evolved.AFRIKAANS Mense is nie net by die natuur aangepas nie, maar hulle pas ook hulle alledaagse omgewing aan om in hulle eie behoeftes te voorsien. In hierdie verband meen ek dat Japanese Zen-tuine ’n unieke brug slaan tussen die verskillende formatiewe sfere van ons perseptuele evolusie deur die handhawing van ’n voldoende mate van visuele kompleksiteit by wyse van die gebruik van natuurlike komponente om in ons natuurlike sensoriese en perseptuele behoeftes te voorsien, en vermag dit in ’n omgewing wat geheel-en-al kunsmatig is. In plaas daarvan om die natuur as die ‘beste’ ontwerp vir menslike persepsie te beskou, stel ek dit dat die ontwerp van ons perseptuele en kognitiewe breinsisteme die ‘beste’ is vir funksionering in die ekologiese nisse waarin ons ontwikkel het

Eight lessons from karesansui

Eight structural aspects of Japanese dry rock gardens are presented as suggested conceptual qualities for probing the underlying logic of naturalistic landscape design. The aim is to better equip a methodic research approach into visually expressed intuitive design properties which are very difficult to articulate otherwise. The presentation is not exhaustive, and should be considered an open invitation for the creation of a record of clear examples from which the intuitive design of the Japanese garden can be more fully understood.AGT LESSE VAN KARENSANSUI Agt strukturele aspekte van die Japanese drok-kliptuin word aangebied as voorgestelde kwaliteite vir n ondersoek na die logika van naturalistiese landskapontwerp. Die doel is om n metodiese ondersoekbenadering beter toe te rus ten opsigte van die intuitiewe eienskappe wat visueel uitgedruk is, maar wat andersins moeilik geartikuleer kan word. Hierdie benadering word nie as geheel en al omvattend aangebied nie, maar behoort beskou te word as n ope uitnodiging vir die daarstelling van n opgawe van voorbeelde wat met sekerheid uitgeklaar is as die waarin die intuitiewe ontwerp van die Japanese tuin beter verstaan kan word.http://explore.up.ac.za/record=b171913

Less is more or less more: perceptual health in minimalist design

The saying by Ludwig van der Rohe, that "less is more", has become a well-known truism about the supposed superiority of minimalism over other design forms, especially decorative compositions. Here, the avenues of ugliness, beauty and the sublime are used to revisit a key inspiration of minimalism, namely, Japanese landscape design and architecture. In particular, this article is presented from the viewpoint of visual psychology, examining some key aspects of what these designs offer the human visual system at various neural levels. Knowing on what "diet" of visual signals our perception and cognition flourishes, a comparison of recent examples of minimalist design [and classical Japanese minimalism reveals key dissimilarities of what] there is more or less of in each case. The conclusion is that, in neural terms, less than the necessary sensory stimulation results in more mental agitation than is necessary, especially when individuals need to function within a visual environment for an extended period of time. AFRIKAANS: Minder is min of meer meer, perseptuele welstand in minimalistiese ontwerp. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe se stelling dat minder meer is, het 'n aanvaarde vanselfsprekende waarheid geword wat die veronderstelde meerderwaardighede van minimalisme oor ander soorte ontwerp bevestig, veral oor dekoratiewe komposisies. Aakligheid, skoonheid en die sublieme as temas word hier aangewend om die belangrikste inspirasies van minimalisme na te gaan, naamlik Japanese landskapontwerp en argitektuur. In die besonder word hierdie artikel aangebied vanuit die standpunt van visuele psigologie en ondersoek word ingestel na wat genoemde ontwerpe die menslike visuele sisteem op verskeie neurale vlakke bied. Wetende op watter "dieet" van visuele seine ons persepsie en kognisie floreer, ontbloot 'n vergelyking tussen resente voorbeelde van minimalistiese ontwerp en klassieke Japanese "minimalisme" sleutelverskille van wat daar visueel meer of minder in elke geval van is. Die slotsom is dat, in neutrale terme, minder as die vereiste sensoriese stimulasie meer mentale agitasie veroorsaak as wat nodig is wanneer indiwidue vir 'n uitgebreide tydperk binne 'n visuele omgewing moet funksioneer

Structural order in Japanese "Karesansui" gardens

We interpret Japanese rock garden design, from a visual psychological stance, to understand how and why design effects are achieved, and how this may relate to the sense of calm typically evoked in these gardens. We found that classical design guidelines attempt to balance the visual prominence of design elements on multiple spatial scales; neither the "whole" nor the "parts" create an unequal bias for visual attention. We analyse the structure of visual figure and visual ground, since visual structure is the foundation of visual perception. The figures (rock clusters) in Japanese "karesansui" gardens approximate vertically inverted, tree-like branching structures that converge away from the viewer, while visual "ground" is essentially an upright, dichotomously branching structure, converging towards the viewer. We conclude that some "karesansui" gardens employ a structural scaffold of the "whole" design to facilitate effortless visual perception, with a calming effect, and specific aesthetic consequences.Article digitised using: Suprascan 1000 RGB scanner, scanned at 400 dpi; 24-bit colour; 100% Image derivating - Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS3 - Image levels, crop, deskew Abbyy Fine Reader No.9 - Image manipulation + OCR Adobe Acrobat 9 (PDF)http://explore.up.ac.za/record=b171913