What is it about?
Can extreme technology, like extreme sport, produce a human-friendly art? Art is normally linked to the humanities: a holistic take, in succinct forms, that evokes feelings and thoughts in the viewer. Such thoughts are not usually under the control of the artist. My review examines these questions in Clifford Ross's photography and more importantly, supports my argument, with evidence from the biology of our eyes visual brain.
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Why is it important?
Art, unlike science, can stand out from the crowd with purely visual impact, stopping viewers on their tracts. It is however but one of its many attributes. The danger of "loud" art is that it keeps viewers from contemplating and creating their own thoughts, and as a result contributes to a herd mentality. This is the opposite of what good art is: an expression of the individuality of the artist. It not so much reflects reality but in time "deflects" it, changing the course of history.
Perspectives
I was surprised at how much of my research in the last twenty years—art and neurobiology—has come to the surface when writing this review. I am greatly inspired by the schoarly insghts of the contributors to the book. Growing up with much art and poetry, I studied biology instead. But the visual allure of art brought me back. I discovered that artists do not work in isolation. They respond not just to technology, but scientific discoveries. I think this crossing of disciplines is a rich field waiting for many researchers.
Cecilia Wong
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Seen and Imagined: The World of Clifford RossSeen and Imagined: The World of Clifford Ross by Clifford Ross; edited by Jay A. Clarke and Joseph Thompson. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2015. 352 pp., illus. Trade. ISBN: 978-0-262-02996-4., Leonardo, April 2017, The MIT Press,
DOI: 10.1162/leon_r_01392.
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