Illucidate rudolf arnheim's theory of expression.
Answers
In this essay, Arnheim examines various notions of expression, focusing on a viewpoint derived from Gestalt theory.
In considering this topic, Arnheim examines what constitutes expression, and its medium of transmission, as well as the mental process that produces the phenomenon of expression. Expression is considered to extend beyond animate things to include the inanimate, which raises the question of what is being expressed by an object when there is no consciousness involved. Various theories of expression are presented:
Associationist theories explain expression as a learned interpretation based wholly on past experiences. A smile is read as a sign of happiness because one has learned this association from past similar experiences. A variation of this theory claims that judgment relies on stereotypes (which are similarly learned).
The empathy theory of expression claims that objects are understood as expressive through the process of imagining oneself in the place of the object. One interprets a column as expressing strength because one can imagine oneself in the place of the column.
The gestalt approach to expression relies on the principle of isomorphism, which is a correspondence in structure between different states of expression and interpretation. In the translations that take place when a mental state prompts an action, when that action is perceived by another, and when that perception is translated back into a mental state, isomorphism is the notion that at each translation, a structural similarity is preserved and carries a meaning. An example is given in which dancers are given various words, and asked to express them through movement.