The absurd consequences of neglecting structure but using the concept of order just the same are evident if one examines the present terminology of information theory. Rudolf Arnheim More Quotes by Rudolf Arnheim More Quotes From Rudolf Arnheim Nothing is more humbling than to look with a strong magnifying glass at an insect so tiny that the naked eye sees only the barest speck and to discover that nevertheless it is sculpted and articulated and striped with the same care and imagination. Rudolf Arnheim eye strong humility At one of the annual conventions of the American Society for Aesthetics much confusion arose when the Society for Anesthetics met at the same time in the same hotel. Rudolf Arnheim hospitality mets confusion A system is in equilibrium when the forces constituting it are arranged in such a way as to compensate each other, like the two weights pulling at the arms of a pair of scales. Rudolf Arnheim arms weight two The dance, just as the performance of the actor, is kinesthetic art, art of the muscle sense. The awareness of tension and relaxation within his own body, the sense of balance that distinguishes the proud stability of the vertical from the risky adventures of thrusting and falling--these are the tools of the dancer. Rudolf Arnheim dance art fall Entropy theory is indeed a first attempt to deal with global form; but it has not been dealing with structure. All it says is that a large sum of elements may have properties not found in a smaller sample of them. Rudolf Arnheim elements may science Entropy theory, on the other hand, is not concerned with the probability of succession in a series of items but with the overall distribution of kinds of items in a given arrangement. Rudolf Arnheim probability-theory science hands Seeing consists of the grasping of structural features rather than the indiscriminate recording of detail. Rudolf Arnheim grasping details statistics Climbing is a heroic liberating act; and height spontaneously symbolizes things of high value, be it in the value of worldly power or of spirituality. To rise in an elevator, balloon, or airplane is to experience being liberated from weight, sublimated, invested with superhuman abilities. In addition, to rise from the earth is to approach the realm of light and overview. Therefore the negative overcoming of weight is at the same time the positive achievement of enlightenment and an unobstructed outlook. Rudolf Arnheim climbing airplane light The line that describes the beautiful is elliptical. It has simplicity and constant change. It cannot be described by a compass, and it changes direction at every one of its points. Rudolf Arnheim simplicity swag beautiful The foreign accent was a promise, and indeed, all over the country, European imports added spice to the sciences, the arts, and other areas. What one had to give was not considered inferior to what one received. Rudolf Arnheim giving country art Art is continually working to take the crust of familiarity off everyday objects. Rudolf Arnheim everyday-objects familiarity art The rehabilitation of order as a universal principle, however, suggested at the same time that orderliness by itself is not sufficient to account for the nature of organized systems in general or for those created by man in particular. Rudolf Arnheim principles men order Order is a necessary condition for anything the human mind is to understand. Rudolf Arnheim understanding mind order Rather than be asked to abandon one's own heritage and to adapt to the mores of the new country, one was expected to possess a treasure of foreign skills and customs that would enrich the resources of American living. Rudolf Arnheim heritage skills country Just as a chemist "isolates" a substance from contaminations that distort his view of its nature and effects, so the work of art purifies significant appearance. It presents abstract themes in their generality, but not reduced to diagrams. Rudolf Arnheim views science art The fundamental peculiarity of the photographic medium; the physical objects themselves print their image by means of the optical and chemical action of light. Rudolf Arnheim light fundamentals mean No mature style of art in any culture has ever been simple. In certain cultures, an overall symmetry may conceal the complexity of the work at first glance. Rudolf Arnheim style simple art It is good to live in a country where all are immigrants ... the newcomer is simply the latest arrival. Rudolf Arnheim newcomers immigrants country The more perfect our means of direct experience, the more easily we are caught by the dangerous illusion that perceiving is tantamount to knowing and understanding. Rudolf Arnheim knowing perfect mean It would be most wholesome if for at least twenty years art historians were forbidden to refer to any derivations. If they were not allowed to account for a work of art mainly by tracing where it comes from, they would have to deal with it in and by itself--which is what they are most needed for. Rudolf Arnheim twenties years art
