Last year I wrote:

Art and Epistemology (art-ep).

In this unit, I would like to research knowledge and learning.

How and where do we find it and might we acquire it from images?

The relationship between Art and Learning has long been examined, and every age has held its own opinions. One opinion from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy is that after examining theories from Plato (427—347 B.C.E.) and Aristotle to Noël Carroll (2002) is that we do indeed gain something from experiencing and looking at art but it is unlikely to be learning or knowledge.

I still think that this is a fair comment. Although now I believe if what we observe and experience is synergistically coupled with an emotion, desire, or a driven need, we learn and knowledge is acquired in a passive manner in due course.

whether it is reasonably safe knowledge depends on the source we collect it from and the context we view it in; perspective is everything.

‘The Economy Of Painting’- Notes On The Vitality Of A Success Medium.’

My thoughts on Synergistic learning are confirmed by Isabelle Graw in her talk ‘The Economy Of Painting ‘where she touches on the ideas of indexicality, the absent author, vitalist projection, and our need to commune with the artist (whom we hold in high esteem) via an original artwork. She concludes that the artwork does contain knowledge that is imparted to the audience and the artist is present within their work either by the manifestation of their ideas or their actual handy work, which is the magic ingredient that allows this process to succeed.

This excerpt is taken from my 2020 research – Link