The chief objective of this study is to establish the sources of Gyorgy Kepes's visual theory as expounded in his 1944 book Language of Vision, and examine his synthesis of these sources in a form that was so popular that his theoretic metaphors are still alive today. The very longevity, pervasiveness, and adaptability of his ideas have contributed to a recent tendency to make inaccurate assumptions about Kepes's sources and misconstrue his goals. Growing scholarly attention to Kepes's work and theory is hampered by the lack of focused scholarly work on this book, his most concentrated source of his ideas on art, design, and vision. This dissertation looks at the contributions of Kepes's mentors, friends, and colleagues—artists, scientists, philosophers, writers, and teachers—whom he met in the principal places he lived leading up to the publication of his book—Budapest, Berlin, London, and Chicago. In particular, this dissertation examines the theoretical or philosophical sources these colleagues turned to in their own work: advertising psychology based to a large degree on ideas of philosopher Wilhelm Wundt; theoretical approaches to new media; Gestalt psychology; and language concepts of the Unity of Science movement. This dissertation asserts that Kepes found both a common social concern among these colleagues and an underlying unity to their varied approaches that he fused into the potent and flexible metaphor of vision. He applied this metaphor to advertising design, but he and others have broadened it to include art, architecture, other forms of design, and perception. Both anchoring Kepes's theories and traversing broad areas of visual theory, art pedagogy, and commercial art, this study intends to contribute to a broader understanding of mid-twentieth-century art theory and practice. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Art History in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2010. / March 16, 2010. / Commercial Art, Lajos Kassák, Gestalt Psychology, Art Education, Graphic Design, Gyorgy Kepes, School of Design Chicago, Unity of Science, Structuralism / Includes bibliographical references. / Karen A. Bearor, Professor Directing Dissertation; R. Bruce Bickley, University Representative; Jack Freiberg, Committee Member; Adam Jolles, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_176349 |
| Contributors | Roach, Leigh Anne (authoraut), Bearor, Karen A. (professor directing dissertation), Bickley, R. Bruce (university representative), Freiberg, Jack (committee member), Jolles, Adam (committee member), Department of Art History (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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