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Rudolf Arnheim has been known, since the publication of his groundbreaking "Art and Visual Perception" in 1974, as an authority on the psychological interpretation of the visual arts. Two anniversary volumes celebrate the landmark anniversaries of his works in 2009. In "The Power of the Center", Arnheim uses a wealth of examples to consider the factors that determine the overall organization of visual form in works of painting, sculpture, and architecture. "The Dynamics of Architectural Form" explores the unexpected perceptual consequences of architecture with Arnheim's customary clarity and precision. "It is the balance between the precision of [Arnheim's] specific analyses and their participation in a larger order of principles that makes Power of the Center such a satisfying book." * ARTnews * "Arnheim was a distinguished psychologist, philosopher and critic whose work explored the cognitive basis of art-how we interpret it and, by extension, the world." * Cabinet *

The Power of the Center: A Study of Composition in the Visual Arts, 20th Anniversary Edition

Introduction

I. TWO SPATIAL SYSTEMS

A master key to composition. Centricity and eccentricity. Vectors

and their targets. Interaction of the systems.



II. CENTERS AND THEIR RIVALS

Geometric and dynamic. The pull of gravity. The visual center

underneath. Varieties of weight.

Sculpture and the ground. Matisse under pressure.



III. THE VIEWER AS A CENTER

Self-centered vision. Various positions in space. A slab in suspense.

Seeing the world sideways. The viewer as an influence. Looking into depth.



IV. LIMITS AND FRAMES

Enclosures spread energy. Tampering with the range. The functions of frames.

Framed space not quite closed. Rectangular formats. Challenges to the middle.

Perspective creates a center.



V. TONDO AND SQUARE

Floating shapes. Tondi stress the middle. The role of eccentricity.

Disks inside. The oval. Squares balance the coordinates. Albers's nests of squares.

Mondrian overrides centricity. A square by Munch.



VI. CENTERS AS HUBS

Providing stability. Tension through deviation. Dynamics of the human figure.

Saltimbanques and Guernica.



VII. CENTERS AS DIVIDERS

Bipolar composition. The necessary latch. Diagonals. Noli me tangere.



VIII. VOLUMES AND NODES

Volumes and vectors interacting. Kinds of nodes. Nodes of the body. Faces and hands.

Singing man.



IX. SPACE IN DEPTH

Perceiving the third dimension. Objects behaving in space. Enclosures replacing frames.

The added view of projection. Continuity of space. What perspective contributes. Time in

space. The symbolism of the frontal plane.



X. CENTERS AND GRIDS IN BUILDINGS

Grids prevail. Design in elevation. Design on the ground. Coping with full space.



XI. FURTHERMORE

Composition in time. Are there exceptions? A physical foundation. Composition carries meaning.



Glossary

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Index