Psychology of Art
Fall 2018
Assignment 4
Robert Irwin’s career has been characterized as a constant quest. His works have marked successive attempts to learn more about the questions that drivehim. At several places in the Weschler book, there are summary lists to remind you of the sequence of Irwin’s works that are each discussed in some detail. For example on the page marked “Prelude” just before chapter 10, Weschler said, “. . . everything else seemed to fall away before the relentless flow of his aesthetic project: the abstract canvases, the early lines, the late lines, the dots, the discs, the columns. (p. 121).”
Just as Irwin is on a quest, so are you, as a reader and student. By the time you write on this assignment, you will have a definite impression of Irwin and his work, based on your reading and the video. The obvious best source of impressions is to be in the presence of his work. Taking Irwin at his word, that he feels like his work reflects one quest, consider your own growing awareness of that quest. You read about each type of work in Weschler, as partially listed at the end of the paragraph above. Think about why Irwin did each of the types of art that he did and how each grows out of what came before it.
Describe where in the sequence you think you got the most insightful or most informative (for you) impression of what Irwin’s quest is about. From abstract paintings to early lines? From early lines to late lines? From lines to dots? Dots to discs? Discs to columns? For yourself, fill in earlier and later hallmarks of Irwin’s work. Then out of the whole list, identify which transition came closest to providing for you an “aha!” experience, the experience that you think you’re beginning to get what Irwin is about. Explain why the transition you chose seems most illuminating to you.
Stick to discussing substantive examples as well as you can so that you are well grounded in the work.
Ecological Psychology and Homeokinetics 