module 2

 These videos and articles were very interesting. Some interesting topics that were covered in the first video was that although Aristotle was Plato's student, there opinions on art and poetry were very different.  When the article discussed the Mona Lisa smile, I found that part to be most interesting. It is amazing how when you do look around her face, her expression seems to change. You have to rely on your peripheral vision so much especially when looking at this particular painting. The Mona Lisa has always been one of my favorite works of art, because I find it beyond beautiful, so learning about how her face changes depending on where you look at her it so interesting to me.

In my opinion, the most important  philosopher that was mentioned was Plato taught that "the there is an idea of beauty in which all things are beautiful." Plato argued the manifestation of something beautiful attracts the person that sees it. This is very interesting and true, we are intrigued by the idea of beauty. Plato held a low opinion on artists and poets which is interesting coming from a man such a Plato himself.  Plato mistrusted poets because he believed the spoke about things that they didn't know about. "Plato famously denied that poetry was art."

It was very interesting when Changeux was discussing how important the function of the brain is when looking at aesthetics. There are many mental processes that occur when looking at art. It was interesting when he showed the picture and asked if it was a mans face or a woman and it was hard to tell depending on how you were perceiving it. Ramachandran was studying visual aesthetics because he wondered why certain works of art had such an impact on the human mind. He was very interesting to listen to in terms of why certain works of art are even considered works of art. People have different likings, and individual peoples cultures are why some people like certain works of art and other people don't like it.

I think the videos and the article really go together and make sense. After hearing the speakers talk about how we rely on our brain when it comes to art, and then reading the article and learning about how your brain works to distinguish color, luminance,  and most importantly why we like art, which I think was touched upon by the speakers as well.

I really enjoyed watching the two videos and reading the article. Personally, I enjoyed the article because how the articles described how your brain works in terms of deciphering lines, and faces , etc. it was interesting to learn about how much you rely on your brain in terms of looking at art. I definately learned a lot more from these two videos and article.