cybernetic approach to aesthetics

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Leonardo

A Cybernetic Approach to AestheticsAuthor(s): Herbert W. FrankeReviewed work(s):Source: Leonardo, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Summer, 1977), pp. 203-206Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1573423 .

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Leonardo,Vol. 10, pp. 203-206. Pergamon Press 1977. Printed in Great Britain

A CYBERNETICPPROACH T O

AESTHETICS

Herbert W. Franke*

Abstract-The authorconsiders, nparticular,the informationcontained npicturesand the way in

which artistsproduce them and viewersrespondto them rom thepoint of view of cybernetics.He

pointsout (1) that the maximumrate at which he humanbraincanconsciouslyreceivediscrete tems

or bits of information rom the senses is about 16 bits/sec and (2) that,since the short-termmemorycanretain nformationforonlyabout10 sec (theperiodcan be extendedbymentalconcentration,but

duringsuch concentration the information nput is stopped), the brain can consciously process no

more than 160 bits at a time. These imitationsare thenused to examine the structureofpicturesand

of theprocess of viewing them.

The characteristicsof pictures,

theirinformation

asmessages

and the way they stimulate

emotional reactions in viewers are briefly discussed. The strategy and tactics used by artists to

captureand hold the interest of viewersof a picture are outlined.

Whilethe authorstates that it is not easy to measure the amountof information n an artworkand

to account or subjectivereactions to it, hebelievesthatcyberneticaesthetics willbringan end to the

era of sophistry in the discussionof art, because it providesa rational way for understanding he

humanphenomenonof art and of aestheticperception.

I. INTRODUCTION

In an excellent rticlenLeonardo,MichaelJ.Aptergives an insight into the relationshipbetween

cybernetics and art [1]. He points out that

cybernetics,andome of its related

aspects,such as

the theoretical tudiesof information haracteris-

tics,controlsystemsandautomata,maybeappliedusefullyto the analysisof visual art. On the one

hand,they may lead to a betterunderstanding fwhat artistsdo and aspire o do in relation o thereactionsof viewersto their works, and, on the

other, heymayassistartists o executebetterworksin a traditional manner and with the aid ofmachines. n the past few yearsrelationsbetweenart and information heory,with and withouttheaid ofmachines, avebeenstudied o the extent hatnow one can speak of cyberneticaesthetics[2, 3]. In

this article shalldiscuss tsunderlyingonceptsasthey apply o objectsof visual ineart, nparticular,pictures.

II. INFORMATION AND REDUNDANCY

A fundamental artof cybernetic esthetics, ndindeedof cyberneticsn general, s the conceptof

information.t is beyond hescopeof this article odiscuss n detailthe ideaof the statisticalaspectofinformation theory as conceived by ClaudeShannon [4]. Here it is sufficientto say that,mathematicallyefined,nformations a measure f

*Physicist and artist, D-8195 Puppling 40, Pupplinger Au,

near Munich, Federal Republic of Germany. (Based on a

translation of a text in German.) (Received 18 April 1974.)

the complexityof a text, a picture,a system,a

situation, a construction, etc. A quantitativeevaluationof this complexity s the sum of thenumber of elementarysigns used. A practicalquestion s: whatminimumnumberof elementary

signs is necessaryto make a message compre-hensible? Such elementary signs may be, for

example,holes npunchcardsormagnetic potsona magnetictape. They may also be letters andnumeralsn a text, pointsand linesin a telegram,etc.A similarproblem ppearsn colorprinting ndin televisiondisplays.How manymagenta,cyan,yellowand blackpointsdoes one,need to printa

picturencolorthat sfaithful o theoriginal r how

manypointsand linesareneeded oranacceptabletelevisionpicture?Thisconceptof informationhas

provedto be of decisive mportanceor the use of

digital computers and to be helpful in other

scientificdomains, uchas thepsychologyof visualperception.

A distinctionmust be madebetween he amountof information being stored and the rate ofinformationlowing hrougha channel, hatis, theinformation low. The amount of information smeasuredn discretequantities rbits,whereone bitis the unit of information hat allowsa decision obe madebetween woequallyprobablealternatives

only. Information low is measuredn bits/sec.Ineach message there is an essential part andsometimesa superfluouspart, such as repetition.The superfluouspart is called redundancy.n a

picture,redundancys providedby characteristicsof order, for example symmetry, a style of

presentation, tc.

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Herbert W. Franke

Some viewers manage to grasp the message in a

picture dealing with a familiar subject when it is

tersely presented, others require a more elaborate

presentation.A graspof the message dependson theamount of objective and subjective knowledgepossessed by a viewer. The amount of informationobtained from a picture by a viewer is a relative

quantity, which varies from person to person.Objective knowledge is the concern of science and

technology, and both objective and subjectiveknowledge of psychology, education [5] and thearts.

III. INFORMATION PSYCHOLOGY

I wish now to discuss information reception andthe thinking process from the viewpoint ofinformation or data processing. A rudimentaryunderstandingof something of a complex character

may be reachedby consideringa simplifiedmodel ofthe way the brain obtains and deals withinformation. The

following stages are involved (cf.Fig. 1): (1) perceptual organs, (2) neuron network,(3) conciousness, (4) short-term memory and (5)long-termmemory.The last threestages involve the

storage of information, and consciousness is alsothe memory processing stage. Short-term memoryprovides storage for a few hours and long-termmemory for an unlimitedperiod. Some informationcan reach either memory stage without goingthroughconsciousness (subliminalperception),andmuch information never reaches long-termmemory.

Experiments indicate that the human brain is

capable of receivinginformation through the sensesat the rate of about 108 bits/sec [6, 7] but that,consciously, only about 16 bits/sec can be received.

During its transmission to the neuron network ofthe brain, information received by the sense

receptors undergoes processing to suppress thatwhich is unimportant, to select that which is

important and to clarify that which is selected as

important.In cyberneticterms,consciousnessmay be viewed

as the temporary storage of information. The

storage limit of about 160 bits in the consciousnesscomes from the fact that information is admitted at

a rate of about 16 bits/sec and is retained for about10 sec. Information retention in the consciousnesscan be prolonged by concentration, but theinformation inflow is blocked when this is done [8,9].

IV. ARTIST-PUBLIC INTERACTION

The purpose of the arts (painting, sculpture,literature, music, dancing, film, etc.) is to offeraestheticsatisfaction to the public. However, artists

generallyproducetheirworks to give satisfaction tothemselves. In the cybernetic model proposed, the

expectations of the public are given priority and Ishall introduce into the model the concept ofaestheticperception,whichcan be discussedusefullyin terms of information psychology.

The question arises as to whether aesthetic

perception differs fromordinaryperception.

I shallassume that both kinds of perception involve thesame processes of information reception and

thinking,but that in artworksthe information to betransmitted is structuredin a special manner. It isstructured with the intention to entice persons toconcern themselves with it profoundly and

repeatedlyduring long periodsof time. This impliesthat artworks should be capable of holding a

person's attention and be adapted to humanaesthetic perception abilities and to exploratorybehavior characteristics.

For this task, the limitsof informationprocessingof consciousness should be taken into account. A

temporal artwork (music, theatre, film, kinetic art,etc.) that conveys 16 bits/sec of information

requires for a grasp of the information by theconsciousness its full capacity. For static works, aviewercan regulate the speed at which informationin the picture or sculptureis received. A still objectthat contains 160 bits of information to be graspedat one short viewing requiresthe consciousness tofunction at its full capacity of retaining bits ofinformation for about 10 sec.

V. THE QUESTION OF EMOTIONS

How may the emotional effects produced by anartwork be taken account of in a cyberneticaesthetics model? In the cyberneticsense, emotionsare consciousness-awakening signals that directattention to situations of importance for dailyexistence. Feelings often operate as feedback

processes. Feelings may be reinforcedpositively or

negatively to maintain or avoid a certain state orsituation.

The feelings with which psychologists are oftenconcernedare those of hunger,fear, aggression,etc.

Recently, the feelings involved in exploration

behavior have been studied, notably by D. E.Berlyne [10]. Some of these serve to stimulaterational behavior. In such studies, a subject selectsfrom the flow of information from the environmentthose bits that areinterestingandunderstandableor

puzzling. Here, three kinds of reactions are

important: boredom, if the flow of information istoo low (below 16 bits/sec); irritation, if it is too

high (above 16 bits/sec); and a positive feeling of

interest, if it corresponds to the human limit of

Fig. 1. Diagram of theflow of information rom the sense organs to the brain.

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A CyberneticApproachto Aesthetics

receptivity(16 bits/sec). On the basis of the above, a

new guideline for making artworks can be

proposed: artists should provide a flow of

information of about 16bits/sec. If this is done, one

might expect feelings to be stimulated that areassociated with beauty, harmony, etc.

VI. AESTHETIC STRATEGIES FORPRODUCING A PICTURE

Traditionally, pictures are expected to retain the

interest of viewers over a long span of time;

masterpieces are said to be 'eternally' interesting.But, the.16bits/sec-160 bits rule,cited in Part III, isnot directly applicable to the making of pictures,because a picture containing only 160 bits ofinformation would maintain interest for only 10seconds (and one containing more than 160 bitswould probably be irritating).What is a way out ofthis dilemma?

A humanbeing is able to concentrate successivelyon several categories of meaning in a picture. For

instance, as regards syntax, one may give attentionto the geometrical aspects of the composition or to

the arrangement of colors, etc., and, as regardssemantics, one may consider the meaning of shapesand signs from the points of view of their historical,

metaphorical and allegorical significance and oftheir meaning in terms of one's life experience.Therefore,one way out of the dilemma is to make a

picture in which the amount of information in each

category does not exceed 160 bits and to increase

the number ofcategories,

so that it will takelongerfor viewers to explore the picture, that is, to

maintain an interestin it. Interestcan be augmented

by introducing relationships between the infor-

mation contained in the various categories of

meaning. In this way, a picturecan have more than

160 bits of information without overtaxing viewers.

A second tactic would involve the encoding of asemantic content (an idea, a statement, a geometri-cal rule, etc.). The interest of viewers would then be

stimulated by the search for hidden information as

in a puzzle. A third tactic would be to introduce

signs and symbols that evoke feelings by associ-

ation. This approach has its dangers,exemplified byobjects described as 'kitsch'.

I can now propose a 'cyberneticdefinition' of an

artwork: it is an offer to provide people with

satisfaction through aesthetic perception. It should

be optimally structured and adapted to providethem with long-term interest. Furthermore, it

should give to them a maximum of positivereinforcement of feelings arising from explorativebehavior, leading to the satisfaction of havinglearned some new objective information.

VII. CONCLUDING REMARKS

A goal of cybernetic aesthetics is to provide amore objectivemeansof evaluatingthe effectivenessof artworks. My discussion of the cyberneticmodel

indicates that this is difficult-first, because themeasurement of the amount-of information in anartwork is not easy, although possible in principle,and second, because it is necessaryto take accountof elusive subjective information. Furthermore,aesthetic perception is not absolute but varies from

person to person. Nevertheless, when an attempt ismade to evaluate an artwork objectively, the

strategy and tactics used by its artist must beconsidered.

Actually, the determination of the intrinsic valueof an artwork is of secondary importance. The

primaryissue to be confronted is the interaction ofart and society. Some of the questions that still begfor an answer are: what should be the role of art in

advanced-technology societies? To whom shouldart be directed-the young, the general public or an

art-sophisticated elite? Should there be educationfor art appreciation in school years and beyond?Should art be produced by machines? Is there a

biologicalbasis for art? Is art dead or does it have a

future?I believe that cybernetic aesthetics can help to

answer these questions. It is based on the recognized

explorative behavior of humans and on the premisethat artworksoffer satisfaction through the exerciseof aesthetic perception of complex structures and

signs and of the meanings expressed by thesestructuresand signs. The developmentof cyberneticaestheticshas only begun;many aspects of it remainto be resolved. Nevertheless, I believe that it will

help to put an end to the era of sophistry in

discussions of art. Readers of Leonardo will find

other discussions of a scientificapproach

toaesthetics in Refs. 11-20.

REFERENCES

1. M. J. Apter, Cyberneticsand Art, Leonardo2, 257 (1969).2. H. W. Franke and G. Jager, ApparativeKunst (Cologne:

DuMont Schauberg, 1973).3. H. W Franke, Phanomen Kunst (Cologne: DuMont

Schauberg, 1974).4. C. E. Shannon and W. Weaver, The Mathematical Theory

of Communication (Urbana, Ill.: Univ. of Illinois Press,

1949).5. F. v. Cube, Kybernetische Grundlagendes Lernens und

Lehrens(2nd ed.)(Stuttgart:

Klett,1968).6. K. Steinbuch, Automat und Mensch (4th ed.) (Berlin:

Springer, 1971).7. H. Zemanek, Elementare Informationstheorie (Vienna:

Oldenbourg, 1959).8. H. Frank, Grundlagenproblemeder Informationsiisthetik

und erste Anwendung auf die Mime Pure. (Dissertation,Technische Universitat Stuttgart, 1959).

9. H. Frank, ea., Informationspsychologie5th ed.) (Frankfurtam Main: Umschau, 1965).

10. D. E. Berlyne, Curiosity and Exploration, Science 153, 25

(1966).11. M. Thompson, Computer Art: A Visual Model for the

Modular Pictures of Manuel Barbadillo, Leonardo5, 219

(1972).12. F. Molnar, ExperimentalAesthetics or the Science of Art,

Leonardo7,

23(1974).13. M. Thompson, Intelligent Computers and Visual Artists,

Leonardo7, 227 (1974).14. J. Gips and G. Stiny, An Investigation of Algorithmic

Aesthetics, Leonardo8, 213 (1975).

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Herbert W. Franke

15. M. Thompson, Comments on the Algorithmic Aesthetic

System of James Gips and George Stiny, Leonardo8, 326

(1975).16. J. J. Gibson, Pickford and the Failure of Experimental

Aesthetics, Leonardo8, 319 (1975).17. D. E. Noble, On the Application of Systems Models to

Visual Art Based upon My Experience as a Painter,Leonardo8, 278 (1975).

18. R. W. Pickford, Gibson and the Success of ExperimentalAesthetics, Leonardo9, 56 (1976).

19. M. J. Apter, Can Computers Be Programmed to

Appreciate Art? Leonardo10, 17 (1977).

20. D. E. Berlyne, Psychological Aesthetics, Speculative and

Scientific, Leonardo10, 56 (1977).

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