Art, Visual Illusions and the Brain

Neurophysiologists are not able to say why we like certain works of art or how they emotionally impact us, but we do know a lot about how various aspects of a painting — faces, lines and color — are processed by the brain. This talk concerns means of investigating the visual system as it pertains to art and then delves into a discussion of cognitive psychology and visual neurophysiology as they pertain to art. Paintings and visual illusions will be shown to illustrate these principles.