My doctoral thesis applied theories and findings from cognitive psychology to notions of pictorial address and seriality in art. It was interdisciplinary and practice-led, culminating in a written outcome and a portfolio of creative work. The thesis suggests a model for the exchange of ideas within experimental psychology, art practice and art theory.
The research evaluates historical and theoretical notions of pictorial address in light of concepts within visual cognition. Theories of address often refer to the temporal, spatial and postural qualities of art spectatorship. Within my thesis they are aligned with relevant psychological concepts including gist extraction, spatial representation and embodied simulation in order to make the underlying perceptual and cognitive processes explicit.
The creative outcomes comprise paintings, drawings, photography and mixed media installation that explore properties of variation, repetition and relational knowledge within pictorial address.
