Introduction

Irony there may be, but no pun is intended, in the suggestion that perception is the subject of various points of view. It is intended, however, that sooner or later it will invoke a form of what may be called 'spatial thinking'[1], an attribute that is likely to be a product of a dialogue between the intellect and intuition. This thesis will suggest that our natural facility for spatial thinking, a crucial feature of perception, is a process of continual development and susceptible to significant change as a consequence of exposure to modern imaging and communication processes.

Firstly there is a consideration of a theoretical view by the French philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941) who writes of the 'intuition of space' with reference to our understanding of the concept of number. Secondly in an endeavour to understand a little of the reality of how we came to possess such a faculty there is a reference to the work of the archaeologist Schmandt-Besserat who has constructed a theory that the inception of writing has its origins in the concept of number. Engaging with number and acquiring an ability to use language in its written form would occupy space in the minds of increasing numbers of the peoples of the world.

To present an appraisal of a work of art, for example, would become as much a matter of cognition as that of an emotional response. Bergson lived in a time of intense anthropological interest in primitive cultures as did the formalist art critic Roger Fry (1866-1934) who came later in life to appreciate the idea of a 'free aesthetic impulse'[2]. Today William Kentridge, an artist from Johannesburg, crosses technological, cultural, and spatial boundaries with a body of work that includes two-dimensional charcoal drawings on paper that are metamorphosed by reworking into a distinctive form of animated film.

Throughout history there have been conceptual developments in the representation of perceptions but today's rapid technological changes bring to the fore the question of how much does the means of our perception alter what is perceived and vice versa.

There may be implications for theories that propose spatial awareness is more a matter of 'tactile values'[3] than sight or that 'memory is inherent in nature'[4].

Bibliography

BERGSON, HENRI (1911) Creative Evolution Translated by Arthur Mitchell Macmillan London
BERGSON, HENRI (1971) Time and Free Will Translated by F. L. Pogson M.A. George Allen and Unwin Ltd London
FRY, ROGER (1924) The Artist and Psycho-Analysis Hogarth Press
FRY, ROGER (1926) Transformations Chatto and Windus
KING, RUSSELL (1990) Visions of the World and Languages of Maps Trinity College Dublin
SCHMANDT-BESSERAT, DENISE (1992) Before Writing Vol 1 From Counting to Cuneiform University of Texas Press Austin
SHELDRAKE, RUPERT (1988) The Presence of the Past Fontana / Collins
SPALDING, FRANCES (1980) Roger Fry: Art and Life Paul Eleck Granada London
WOLLHEIM, R (1970) Art and its Objects Penguin Books