Perceptual : Conceptual
as
Sensory : Thought
Simple math =)
Perceptual comes from the word perceive. Thus should be rather apt to say that perceptual art taps into the 5 senses, and perception comes from any combination of sight, touch, sound, taste and smell. This type of art is influenced deeply by a combination of art and psychology, thus appreciation of it is highly subjective. It taps into the artist and the philosopher in an individual in order for meaning to be derived from it, thus interpretations may vary tremendously, and each individual's experience of the piece would differ a great deal.
Art and psychology:
Just a sudden thought, in biopsychology we learn the phenomena of synesthesia, a condition whereby the senses are experienced in response to stimulation of another sense (ie: "I can smell yellow." or "Number 2 is purple!"). As researchers have not yet performed enough research on those with this condition, they estimate that they have probably overlooks people with a milder form of the condition. Therefore it is probable that some of us do have this condition however on different levels. Perceptual art would probably be much more appealing and have more meaning to an individual higher on this scale as compared to someone lower on the scale (just an attempt at a probable reason to why some do not appreciate perceptual art as much as others).
Questions to ask:
What do you FEEL when you look at these pieces?
How was the experience?
Left piece: Find reference here: http://ericreber.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/optic-nerve-perceptual-art-of-the-1960s/
Right piece: Perceptual Flux Digital Art - Perceptual Flux Fine Art Print - Casey Kotas
Conceptual art on the other hand taps into a very intellectual side of the artistic world. It is said that the concept and the ideas behind the piece takes precedence over the aesthetic value of the artwork. Many artists incorporated words into their art in order to fully convey the desired message. Perhaps the important element of such a piece would be this, that the message, the plannings and decisions of the artist are thoroughly reflected and justified in the piece, be it a concept, an idea or even an ambiguous revelation that sparked enlightenment.
Art and psychology:
In psychology of advertising, we learn that different types of messages cater to different kinds of people. Some use peripheral processing, relying on what they feel to make a decision while some use central-route processing, relying on the information provided to them. Conceptual art would therefore work better for those who prefer using the central-route processing rather than the peripheral processing.
Questions to ask:
What is this pieces saying to you?
Why did the artist use [insert object here] to relay this message?
Left piece: Lawrence Weiner. Bits & Pieces Put Together to Present a Semblance of a Whole, The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 2005. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_art
Conclusion?
1. There is an explanation for all kinds of actions and behaviour. Don't you just love psychology?
2. For our masterpieces this semester, it is important to incorporate both perceptual as well as conceptual elements into our pieces. As much as history may be dry [and boring], it is essential to provide deeper significance to the things we do.
And so I'm off to read more about art movements, artists and art pieces XD
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