contrast, rhythm, balance and proportion: universal principles of organic and
aesthetic creativity.
Peter D. Stebbing
Hochschule für Gestaltung
This is important to me )Pat) because of the notion of ‘exaction’ or ‘preadaption’. I have not read the article yet (title of obituary)
the article seems to relate aesthetic responses of pleasure and desire to keep looking to evolution. I think exaction is to do with a particular response which becomes removed from its original stimulus and its original adaptive function but remains as a response with its rewards? does that make sense (also in obituary)
This investigation began in 1984 in response to students’ questions concerning the
reasons for the significance of visual rhythm (pattern) and balance and other basic
organisational principles of visual composition (aesthetic form) in graphic design.
The subsequent research has led to a theory that these basic principles are appealing
to us because our perceptual sensitivity originally evolved to recognize visual rhythms
and balances, etc. since these organizational principles are indicative of life forms,
whose recognition is essential for our survival. Consequently, our sense of aesthetic
composition could be an exaptation (or was ‘preadapted’) from our ability to
recognize the diversity of organic forms. Furthermore, our organic-form-recognitionreward
system may have provided us with the basis for our aesthetic appreciation. It
is anticipated that neuroscience can help us to achieve a deeper understanding of
aesthetics, for example, the evolutionary association which may exist between organic
form recognition and our perception of visual composition and aesthetic form.
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