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Contents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2025

Paul van Geert
Paul van Geert
Affiliation:
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts , pp. v - vii
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Contents

  1. List of Figures

  2. Preface

  3. Part IArt as a Complex Process

    1. 1A Nonlinear Affordance for Exploration

      1. 1.1A Nonlinear and Self-similar Affordance for Exploration

      2. 1.2An Advance Organizer: The Book in a Nutshell

    2. 2Art and Process: Definitions and Ontologies

      1. 2.1What Is Art?

      2. 2.2In Search of (a) Definition(s)

      3. 2.3Ontologies of Art

    3. 3From Processes to Complex Dynamic Systems

      1. 3.1How Can Process Be Defined?

      2. 3.2Properties of Processes

      3. 3.3Dynamic Systems of Art

      4. 3.4Complex Dynamic Systems: Cyclical Coupling, Self-organization, Nonlinearity, and Emergence

    4. 4Describing Art Through the Lens of Complex Dynamic Systems

      1. 4.1A Complex Dynamic Systems Definition of Art

      2. 4.2Aspects of the Definition

    5. 5Art in a Complex, Dynamic Web of Functions

      1. 5.1The Functions of Art as a Network with Interaction-Dominant Dynamics

      2. 5.2Art Has an Autotelic Function: Art Provides Affordances for Art

      3. 5.3Art Has a Self-presentation Function

      4. 5.4Art Has a Figuration Function: The Function of Creating Shape and Form (Including Aesthetics)

      5. 5.5Art Has an Expressive and Disclosing Function

      6. 5.6Art Has a Value-raising Function (“Making Special”)

      7. 5.7Art Has a Pragmatic Function: Ideology, Power, and Economics

      8. 5.8Art Has a Ritualistic and Cult Function: Creation of and Participation in the Super-ordinary

  4. Part IIEntangled Timescales of Visual Arts

    1. 6Timescales of Art as Interacting Processes

      1. 6.1Entangled Timescales of Visual Art

      2. 6.2Timescales Apply to Art Systems

    2. 7Timescales of Artistic Activity: Creation and Experience of Art

      1. 7.1Artistic Activities as Attractors

      2. 7.2The Timescale of the Creation of a Work of Art

      3. 7.3The Timescale of Art Experience and Participation

    3. 8Timescales of Artistic Careers

      1. 8.1The Many Shapes of Talent Across the Artist’s Lifespan

      2. 8.2Art School and Training

      3. 8.3Personality

      4. 8.4Motivation and Drives for Artistic Creation

      5. 8.5Art as Visualizer of Identities

      6. 8.6Entangled Timescales of Artistic Careers

    4. 9The Timescale of Excellence and Celebrity

      1. 9.1Understanding Excellence and Celebrity in the Arts

      2. 9.2The Distribution of Excellence and Celebrity in the Population of Artists

    5. 10The Timescale of Art History

      1. 10.1The Processual Nature of Art on the Historical Timescale

      2. 10.2The Variety of Patterns of Art-Historical Change

      3. 10.3Continuity and Discontinuity in Art History

      4. 10.4Complex Networks of Art

    6. 11The Timescale of Deep History and of Human Evolution

      1. 11.1The Dynamics of Evolution and History

      2. 11.2How Does This Dynamic Relate to Art?

      3. 11.3The Relationship Between Art and Human Evolution

  5. Part IIIUnderstanding Art Through Dynamic Models

    1. 12Dynamics of Cultural and Market Value

      1. 12.1Dynamics of the Matthew Principle

      2. 12.2Dynamics of Mutual Support

    2. 13Dynamic Modeling of the Emergence of Excellence in the Arts

      1. 13.1A Network Approach to the Emergence of Excellence

      2. 13.2Some Technical Details of the Model

      3. 13.3Simulation Results and Interpretation

      4. 13.4Beyond Distributions: The Dynamics of Artistic Careers

    3. 14Modeling Long-term Trends and Discontinuities in Art

      1. 14.1How to Model Long-term Trends and Discontinuities

      2. 14.2Steps in the Modeling

      3. 14.3Scenarios of Art-Historical Trends

      4. 14.4What Can Be Learned from the Simulations?

  6. References

  7. Index

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  • Contents
  • Paul van Geert, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts
  • Online publication: 20 March 2025
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  • Contents
  • Paul van Geert, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts
  • Online publication: 20 March 2025
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Contents
  • Paul van Geert, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts
  • Online publication: 20 March 2025
Available formats
×