Herman encourages her readers to “go outside during lunchtime, park yourself in one spot, and practice noticing every thing that is within your line of sight.” She argues that this will teach your eyes and your brain to look beyond what’s right in front of you and to see innovative and different ways of viewing the world. This different way of viewing the world can help you in your professional and personal life.
“The Art of Perception” and Visual Processing Disorder
Herman does not specifically address whether looking at and describing art can benefit those with visual processing disorders, but I found myself thinking about it as I was reading her book. A visual processing (or perceptual) disorder refers to an inability to make sense of information absorbed through the eyes. This does not mean that the child has trouble with sight and needs glasses, rather it involves difficulty processing the visual information in the brain. Reading, writing, and math are areas that can be severely affected by visual processing disorder because these subjects rely heavily on symbols (letter, numbers, signs).
With Herman’s groundbreaking work on perception and art, I believe that observing and describing art could very well aid those dealing with visual processing disorders. Perhaps incorporating “The Art of Perception” into the therapies that these children receive could be beneficial as well. After all, we all can stand to improve our visual intelligence, and maybe we can do it one painting at a time.
