Anton Raederscheidt’s Distorted Self-Portraits and Their Significance for Understanding Balance in Art

Following a right cerebral stroke, the German artist Anton Raederscheidt produced a remarkable series of self-portraits that depicted his severe visual neglect and gradual recovery. These distorted images, like those drawn by others with this disorder, inform us about lateral balance in art and why it is common in the art of cultures separated in time and space. After describing how artists in various cultures have employed lateral balance, I present Arnheim’s view that this aspect of art is the result of visual forces generated by the brain. Following a brief history of visual neglect, I present evidence that this disorder provides us with clues to the origin of the visual forces responsible for lateral balance in art. The relevant brain mechanisms control exploration of visual space by integrating orienting movements with visual spatial information. The prevalence of lateral balance in art becomes understandable when we consider that these brain mechanisms evolved to promote survival in our vertebrate ancestors. I end with a speculative neurological account of the aesthetics of lateral balance – why it is pleasing and its absence is displeasing.     

博物馆展示中的观众注意力引导——以“南越王墓出土文物陈列”为例

注意是人类进行信息加工的前提条件。博物馆观众的注意具有明显的选择性,大多数观众的参观是无意注意行为,博物馆应根据此特性进行管理,从展前的信息组织开始,合理规划展览的内容和形式;在展览预展期,应结合驻足人数、驻足时间以及参观效果访谈等因素进行观众注意力评量,并根据结果实时调整展览设计;开展后,应综合利用各种资源和手段,完善观众注意力引导,从而加强博物馆与观众之间的信息沟通与交流,实现博物馆的教育和传播功能。