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AUTHOR McWhinnie, Harold J. TITLE The Development of a Psychological Aesthetic: Jay Hambidge & Charles Henry. PUB DATE 91 NOTE 17p. PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Art; *Art Education; *Art History; *Artists; Higher Education; Interdisciplinary Approach; *Mathematics IDENTIFIERS Golden Section; *Greek Theory; *Hambidge (JaY); Hambidge (Mary Crovatt); Henry (Charles)

ABSTRACT This article reviews several movements in late 19th and early 20th century art and psychological research that are related to the early Greek method of proportional analysis generally known as the Golden Section. The document discusses the work of the artist Jay Hambidge on the nature of Greek art and design and his thcory of dynamic symmetry. Hambidge and his wife, Mary, have been neglected by art historians because their efforts have not been seen as part of a larger development within the story of the modern movement. The view of Plato that states th., mathematical objects are intermediate between the ideas and the sensible world, reflect eternal relationships, and are separate from the external world, is contrasted to that of Aristotle that while mathematical objects are intermediate between ideal being and the sensible world, they cannot be deducted from an analysis of being, and have no separate existence. Interrelationships between art and science that can be related to the newest developments in science, computer graphics, and computer assisted design re examined. Relativity is seen as complex not because of the mathematics, but because of its novelty in providing a simpler view of the world. The emphasis of this research is on the continuity of research and ideas in the arts as well as the sciences from the past to the present. The second part of the document discusses the work of Charles Henry in the field of empirical or psychological aesthetics. (DK)

*********************************;.A.%:c*:."i.**.A,...********************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***************************************************************** The Development of a Psychological Aesthetic Jay Hambidge & Charles Henry,

by

Harold J. McWhinnie U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Design Department (MK e of Educahonat Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION Department of Curriculum and Instruction CENTER (ERIC) Thts document has been reprocwoed as University of Maryland frved from toe person or orgaruzabon College Park, MD 20742 origrnaling d Minor ChangeS hare been made to improve reproduchon ovahty

Potelsot vtee, or Opinions staled m IntSdOCu ment do not neCessartly represent official OF RI poSthon or poItcy

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MA ERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY M-CL\Th Spring 1991 Mt-LOt`1.-)

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC).- I Abstract: This article reviews several movementsin late 19th and early 20 century artand psychological research which are related to anearly Greek method of proportional analysis generally known as the GoldenSection. It will look at interrelationshipsof art and science that can berelated to the newest developmentsin science, in computer graphics, and in computerassisted design. The emphasis of thisresearch is upon the continuity of research andideas in the art as well as the sciencesfrom the past to the present.

While the material in this essay is of ahistorical nature, it does relate to present concerns in a number offields in both science and art. It is partof an effort on the part of this writer to connectthe past and present and project intothe future. It deals therefore with three kinds oftime. Page 3

Introduction and Background work of Jay and Mary In doing the preparationfor material on the life and Hambidge, I have of necessity goreinto many widespread areasof interest. My relate studies have led me to areview of the followinggeneral topics as they would to my main task which wasthe development of theHambidge story. a. History of Greek mathematics b. Systems of ancient geometry c. Systems of symmetry d. Symmetry in art and science e. General development of artand science in the modern movement. These topics have beenexplored in various sectionsof my book, The Way Is Beauty.(1) The scope of that research was to place JayHambidge, his life and science. As a part of that work, within the mainstreamof 20th century art and issues which will be developed main project, I have come upwith a number of side of these separate essays on in a collection of separatearticles. Part of the purpose work themes relative tc theHambidge project will be tostimulate interest in the of this long neglectedAmerican artist and designer.

Who is Jay Hambidge? who lived in the early yearsof our He was largely aself-taught artist and desizner century. (Death 1924) For abrief time, 1916-1923,his ideas on art and design were influential the talk of artistic circlesin New York and Boston.He wrote several books on the nature of Greek artanddesign.(2) Today he is probably best (3) remembered for his theory ofdynamic symmetry.

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He died in 1924 and for the next50 years his wife Mary CrovattHambidge them to her work continued with his theoreticalinterests in Greek art and applied in fiber art and weaving at herstudio and artistic center inRabun Gap in

Georgia.(4)

Jay Hambidge and later iswife Mary always insisted thatGreece and "The Greek Way" was essential to their work.(5)Their library at the Center inRabun Gap, Geo,-gia was well stocked, not onlywith books on Greek Mathematicsbut with work

on Greek philosophy,literature, mythology, and ancienthistory.

So what was the nature of "TheGreek Way" which so influenced theHambidge's? I have felt the need to go into awide variety of these backgroundstudies since it was my geperal aimin this project to present notonly a comprehensive double for the basis of the portrait of this neglected andinteresting couple; by to account considerable neglect which bothsuffered during their lifetimesin subsequent

history.

I have come to believe that oneof the key reasons for thisneglect, is that no one has really looked at their efforts as apart of a largerdevelopment within the (6) History of the Modern Movement. Their efforts are mainly knownby some There examples from their writings and somelimited drawings of Greek artifacts. is much more to their joint story.

The Classical Foundation is dominated The philosophical and technicalinterpretations of Greek mathematics by the clearly opposedviews of Plato and Aristocle.Plato taught that Page 5 .4

mathematical objects are intermediatebetween "the ideas" and the sensibleworld. The objects reflected eternalrelationships of their own, and were separatefrom (7) the external world which isdiscovered and not invented.

Aristotle, while believing thatmathematical objects were intermediatebetween "ideal being" and the sensible world;held that they cannot be deductedfrom an analysis of being and have no separateexistence. They are abstracted fromthe sensible world. We shall see that artisticexpression based upon mathematical objects of necessity become abstract.

A synthesis of these two basicworld views was undertaken by Euclid whosebasic work, The Elements seems to havebeen an eclectic wedding of Aristotle'smethod of demonstration with Plato's visionof ultimate reality. He firstworked at Alexandria, which as we shall see gavehim a contact with Egyptian sourcesfor the specific methods of mathematicalanalysis of ancient art. Euclid's workremained within the area of the exact sciencesfor he did not; as had Plato andAristotle, speculate upon the philosophicalbasis for his work.

In 1902 Jay Hambidge went toLondon to study the work of ClassicalArt in the British Museum and to lecture on someof his ideas at the Royal Societyof (8) Architects. His main sources duringthis early period was the work ofPenrose (9) and the ideas of his fellow CanadianPeter Mc Arthur. When he returned from his London adventure, he clearlyformulated at least the basic outlinefor a quest that would assume the remaining21 years of his life. (21 is aFibonacci

number.)(10) Page 6

Any consideration of the severalsystems for the measurementof ancient art and artifacts needs to carefullyconsider these important distinctionsin Greek philosophy and mathematics.Too often such systems havebecome overly speculative and Platonic andtheir findings have been oftenconsigned to mysticism and magic. The some extent,Jay's ideas met with the samefate. The more (II) (12) (13) Aristotlean orientate critics, such asBlake, Carpenter and Dinsmoor all accused Hambidge of being mystical.They dismissed his ideas as beinghighly speculative and non-scientific.

An examination of theHambidge Library will reveal thatboth Jay and Mary Hambidge had a good grounding inClassical art and culture. Theyknew well the distinctions between the Platonicand the Aristotlean accountsof reality; the world both as actual and ideal. WhatJay Hambidge no doubt foundin the works of Euclid the analysis of works of artbut was a systematicand ordered approach to not only to their creation aswell. The early years of the20th century saw the publication of some of the basic textsand histories of Greekmathematics by Heath and other (4) scho1ars.

There was in the first quarterof this century a great increasein the interest in ancient civilizations. Manymajor museum collections wereformed and brought to this country. Isodora Duncanand Ruth St. Denis were tobecome fascinated with (15) the Greek dance styles as a newdirection for modern dance. Mary Hambidge friend who would later would do some costumes of St.Denis in the 1930s and had a involved in the help to fund her center in RabunGap that was interested and Delphic festivals held at theJacobs Pillow Dance Center inthe 1930s. Mary Page 7

Hambidge had plans to hold Greek andGreek type dance and drama festivals ather center in Georgia.

The modern movement in art design,dance, and music were built uponclassical foundations. They were not purely avant-garde movementswhich rejected all of the past, even if a times the artist's ownmanifestos would seem to imply the rejections of all that had gone the year 1900.

Jay and Mary Hambidge's interestin things Greek and in classical artforms was a part of a much larger movementin the earlier years of our century.The influences from Greece did have considerableinfluence on the development of dance and drama forms as these were to emerge as a partof the modern movement. All of this was not to imply that this wasthe renewal of classicism as an artisticstyle but rather certain classical sources were seen asrelevant to the developingmodernism.

The Art Deco style of the period ofthe 1920s and 1930s reflected thoseinfluences.

This was also true in the musical,dance, and dramatic arts as well.The term

classical is somewhat misleading, when oneused that term in the visual artsthey generally refer to an artistic stylereflected of the late 18th century. TheArt

Deco influences of the 1920s was infact more Greek and had a moredistinctive

look of Greek art. The Hambidge's were notwedded to an artistic style but were directly involved in the transmission ofGreek art and culture related to

developments in this country in the 1920s. Page 8 J

Symmetry vs Dynamic Symmetry Jay's term dynamic symmetryhas caused problems ever since heused it to describe his particular system of designand visual composition. The pursuitof symmetry has been the dominant theme of20th century science.

The IBM scholar, Clifford Pickover,has in recent years made use of computer technology to explore the relationships of artand mathematics. He hasproduced dramatic examples of computer generatedimages which show the nature of symmetry and relationships tothe goldensection.(16)

Edward Teller (1980) in his seriesof lectures entitled, "The Pursuit ofSimplicity", demonstrated that, in the majorfields of physics and chemistry, the useof and the search for symmetry was a desire toachieve synthesis; to get a more simple (17) account of physical phenomenon.

While scientific knowledge has exploded at ageometric ratio, the fundamental pursuit of the key scientific concepts inall fields leads us, not towards greater complexity but to simp!icity; to asimplicity within greater understanding.The central idea of symmetry gives thescientific observer some control over vast amounts of perceptual and sensoryinputs in terms of patterns, recognitionof (18) patterns, proportion, and finallyharmony, balance, and rhythm. The Einstein theory of relativity, for example, iscomplex not because of its' mathematics;but because of the novelty of the idea itself.It provided a more correct andsimpler view of the world. Page 9

anchor in a sea of Within the Einstein system, theinvariant has the role of a fixed relativity. The work relativity is abit unfortunate because in Einstein'stheory the main point is not what is relativebut rather what is not; in otherwords what is invariant and unchanging. Einsteinsuspected that neither time nordistance were

invariant. If one squares the distancelight travels between two eventsand results is an substances the square of the distancebetween the two events, the

invariant.

The trend in the developmentof 20th century science is towardsthe simpler and turn to grander, a more aesthetic accountfor an event or phenomena. Let us now the application of these ideas anddirections in math and science to the

consideration of a psychological aesthetic.

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Charles Henry and a Psychological Aesthetic Charles Henry, a late 19th century French professor, waspartly responsible for the conceptual and methodologica! foundations for thatfield which we now call 19) empirical or psychologicalaesthetics.( For Henry, aesthetics was part of a larger system. Aesthetics was the seeking outand implementation of those rhythms which enhance life and expand consciousness.From his point of view, aesthetics is a necessary psychobiological function whichfurthers the evolution of the organism. All of this should sound a little bit like theGolden Section hypothesis and Berlyne's conception of doing "aestheticsfrombelow".(2°) Much of the struggle of the artist, as well as aesthetican inthe 20th century, has been to give a form to his cosmological concept. In short, to giveall art a human basis, to find in all of nature a basis for art anddesign.(20

The basic idea of psychophysic wasadapted by Henry from the early work of Gustab Fechner, Elements of Psychophysics andis based on the idea that the magnitude to works of art which could be measured.Thus, began the tradition of empirical studies in the arts. The aesthetics responsebecame the subject matter of the psychologist as well as the philosopher.For Fechner and Henry, the unit of measure was condition by ultimate degreesof sensitivity; a sensitivity which ultimately depends upon the measurer's own subjectiveexperience.

In my essay Jay Hambidge and His Critics, Ihave shown that one of the main arguments advanced by Carpenter and othersagainst Jay's ideas of dynamic symmetry and the measurement of Greek art wasthat his results, as well as his system, was too personal; to mystical; notgrounded in an objective study of the art alone.(23)This has been the classical argument against the manystudies which

1 1 Page 11 have been done in the psychology of art. Henry andFechner realized very early in

their work that the subjective response of the viewer wasindeed critical to the perception of the work of art.(24)

Thus, in one bold stroke in 1860, the foundations werelayed for the development of

quantum theory, the ideas of relativity, and thelaw of complementarity (Nels (25) Bohr). Certainly, one constant demand which the 20th centuryartist has made upon the viewer is that they became activelyinvolved in the perceptual-aesthetic encounter. The focus of value or judgementbecomes centered in the observer

rather than the art object observed.

Psychophysics became a way of understanding reality as anintegrated and (26) interrelated whole, Henry called this his "mathematicsof the unconscious." In

working on my Hambidge study, the questionoccurred over and over again, why did Jay Hambidge not reflect these larger intellectualconsiderations in his work? Why

was he so separate from theintellectual mainstreams of the early 20thcentury?

Both Henry and Hambidge were seeking for amathematical description of beauty.

Henry's work as we shall see, relates not only tothe mainstream of 20th century

science; but also to the arts and the development ofthe modern movement. One

possible explanation is that they used differingmathematical bases for their work.

Henry based his ideas on Pythagoreanmathematics with a distinctly mystical (27) flavor; whereas Hambidge based his work on Euclid.

Our second clue as to why Jay did not use andknow of Henry and his work

(although both lived and worked in Paris at the sametime) comes from what we

know of Jay Hambidge's own background andcharacter. He was educated in

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Canada, became a self-taught newspaper artist andillustrator, and went to New York to work as a draftsman. He had very limited contactswith University and scholarly circles and seems to have had some adversion toavant-garde artists, (28) especially those from Europe. In matters of aesthetic taste his was distinctly conservative, and he travelled among conservativeartistic groups. His artistic friends were Sloan, Bellows, Henri, Giles, and Rossand not O'Keeffe, Dove, Marin, of Du Champ.

Henry on the other hand taught at the Universityof Paris, was the holder of the doctoral degree and his circle of artists includedSignac, Pisarro, and Seaurt. Charles Henry was expansive in terms of ideas;whereas Hambidge was more narrowly focused and highly convergent towardsthe pursuit of a single idea. Hence, Hambidge ideas lacking for a widerconceptual base, thus appeared to be somewhat old-fashioned by those who read hiswork. It looked as if he was too much concerned with the analysis of GreekArt. This is indeed too bad for the contemporary artistic world has beendeprived of some useful methods of design and visual composition. Jay Hambidge's greatcontribution was I think to demonstrate in clearly artistic terms how some ofthe advanced concepts in science could be directly employed in art anddesign. He developed a method which artists could use.

The basic psychophysical assumption is that thereis no action without an attendant psychaic reaction. Henry was indeed a modernPythagoras, the world for him was number and number in the Platonic sense was arevelation of a mystic order.

For Pickover and the modern computer artistand scientist all is number, number which reveals order out of chaos; there is a directlinkage between Fechner, Page 13

Charles Henry, and Jay Harnbid?.e. For Henry, complexityrather than symmetry and order were the more beautiful; the more complexthe line, curve, and color, etc.; the more the aesihetic value. Here, wefind the artistic qualities of the Art Nouveau, the visual expression of the symbolists.The key idea in Henry's system was the circle and its' kenetic counterpartthe cycle. For Henry, the neo- Pathagorean, the circle and the cycle represented the whole, completeand irreduceable.

This of course was one difference between him and JayHambidge who based his work on the square and the range of rectangles which couldbe derived from the square. Both, however, were on the trackof the same basic concept except they expressed it in differing mathematical terms.

Under the influence of Henry, artists such as Signac andSeaurt used his ideas as the basis for their own artistic efforts. They usedthe golden section as the compositional basis for many paintings and in their paintings canbe seen a really (30) good example of the use of dynamic symmetry.

These influences of Henry were taken up later by theFrench "Golden Section Group"; artists such as Gris were to introduce theconception into cubism. These efforts will end up as a part of the Armory Show whichJay will see in fact write a short article about.(31)There is not evidence in the Hambidge papers that Jay was familiar with Henry or his work. Jay's sources were moreintuitive, he came upon these important concepts on his own, he was able torelate them to his own experience as an artist and designer.

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Conclusion The purpose of this essay was toplace the work of Jay Hambidgewithin the larger intellectual traditions of 20th centurypsychophysics and the psychology of art.I have tried to relate his efforts to larger eventswithin 20th century science outof the firm belief that a finalre-evaluation and justification for Jay'sideas will be found in the scientific efforts of our century.Jay deserves his place in thesun!

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References unpublished study of the life of Jay 1. H. J. McWhinnie, "The Way is Beauty", and Mary Hambidge. 1919, Yale Press. 2. Jay Hambidge, DynamicSymmetry and the Greek Vase, Dynamic Symmetry and the GreekTemple, 1924, Yale Press. 1968, Dover Press. 3. Jay Hambidge, mmetr by Mary 4. HE -nbidge Center for the Artsand Sciences was established Hambidge in 1944 on 880 acres atRabun Gap Georgia. Today it is anartist center.

5. Edith Hamilton, The Greek Way. Later in her life Mary Hambidgewould visit Edith Hamilton inWashington, D.C. when she was on one of herfrequent trips to New York City. the development of art and design 6. I use the term modern movement to mean from William Morris and the arts andcrafts to the Bauhaus.

7. op. cit. Way isBeauty.

8. William Penrose, "AncientArchitecture", 1902, Oxford Press. The Hambidge Center has a copy ofthis book that belonged to JayHambidge and has the early drawings andanalyses which Jay made over theplates. several 9. A Canadian writer, boyhoodfriend of Jay who worked with Jay on projects in New York and who went withhim to London in 1902. They were seeking the secrets of the ancient in termsof beauty. of 10. The Fibonacci sequence 3, 5, 8,13, 21, 34, etc. are an important aspect the golden section which underliesJay's theory of dynamic symmetry.

11. Edwin Blake, "Review of Greek Vase",Art Bulletin, 1922. A highly critical review of Jay'sbook which contributed to Jay'sobscruity in the later half of the century. Journal of 12. Rhys Carpenter, "Review ofthe Greek Vase", American Archeology, 1921. Rhys Carpenter was the deanof classical scholarship for the firsthalf of the 20th century. He taught at BrynMaur College and was the chief criticof Jay's work. More than anyother critic single source he wasresponsible for the critical neglect of Jay's work.

13. William H. Dinsmoor, "The Parthenon",American Journal of Archeology, 1922.

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A principle classical architecturalscholar who taught at ColumbiaUniversity and joined the critics of Jay's workafter an early encouragementof Jay's efforts.

14. Edwin Heath, Men of Mathematics,1902. Greece with 15. Both Duncan and St. Denis studiedearly classical dance forms in a friend of MaryHambidge, Eva Beth Palmer. Center. 16.Clifford Pickover, unpublished essays oncomputer art, IBM Watson

17. Edward Teller, "The Pursuit ofSimplicity", Nels Bors Essays.

18. Herman Why le, "Symmetry, Nels BorsEssays.

19. Charles Henry, "Vision", La Vogue,April 1886, Vol. 1, No. I.

20. D. E. Berlyne, Aethetics andPsychobiology, NY, Wiley, 1972. beauty, IBM. 21. Clifford Pickover, unpublished essays,computer art and art and 22.Gustav Fecher, "Aesthetics", 1876,Leipzig. Center 23. Conference on Dynamic Symmetryheld in July 1985 at the Hambidge in Rabun Gap. Revue 24. Charles Henry, "Cercle Chromanqueet Sensation de Couleur, La Independante, May 1888, pp. 73-90.

25.Nels Bors, "Essays", 1963. 1891. 26. Charles Henry, "Harmonie deFormes et de Couleurs, Paris, D.C. 27.Letters Jay to Mary; Archivesof American Art, Washington, 28.Walter, "Jay Hambidge and Theoriesof Dynamic Symmetry", 1976, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Univ.of Georgia. which was 29.Jay was a part of the so-calledNew York Realist or ash can group led by Robert Henri. The othermajor artist group working NewYork City in the years immediately afterWWI was the Stylist Group.

30.Daniel Catton Rich, George Seurat. Center in 31.Unpublished article exists in HambidgePapers at the Hambidge Rabun Gap.

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