Cross-modal experience in music and visual art: their correspondences and a new perspective of appreciation in education.

Abstract

Abstract

The originality and significance of this research is to use a?cross-modal? perspective to experience the ?multi-dimensional? nature of the arts, specifically in the area of music and the visual arts. This research will focus on investigating common cross-disciplinary attributes and apply them in the realm of ?appreciation? in aesthetic education in music and visual art.

The three major research problems and issues in this dissertation are as follows: (1) What are the common elements in music and the visual arts? (2) Do people make correspondences between music and painting by using the work of painters and musicians? (3) How do we define the role of music and its adaptability in linking with other expressive forms in contemporary education? Ultimately, the entire dissertation serves to redefine the ?value? and uniqueness of the arts (music and visual art) in the holistic development of an individual, in particularly in moulding and enhancing the skills of personal and cultural expression.

The aims in this research are taken from various angles which correspond with the questions about ?interdisciplinary study? and the ideas of ?changing teaching and learning? in the 21st century. Interdisciplinary Studies has been a term which has provoked a great deal of controversy in current educational development, particularly in Asian countries, and especially in music education.

The originality of this research lies in three areas. First, a cross-modal perspective is used to explore the common elements in music and visual art, especially in the dimensions of ?brightness?, ?intensity? and ?line?. Second, a cross-modal perspective in music will be adopted. Instead of focusing on the melody, harmony and form of music repertoire, sensory qualities, such as ?brightness?, ?intensity? and ?line? will be used as musical vocabulary to interpret cross-modal perception in experiencing the arts. Third, this dissertation will investigate the art experience, especially the thinking and cognitive appraisal in viewing the arts, of the creators and the spectators.