A little over four years ago I was tasked with the job of deciding upon a wedding “theme” for my very own nuptules. You know the drill: to identify all the disparate elements which would, gestalt-like, come together on the night, and render the whole event a symphony of precision craftsmanship for the happy crowd.
The Whole…Its Parts
Gestalt is also known as the “Law of Simplicity” or the “Law of Pragnanz” (the entire figure or configuration), which states that every stimulus is perceived in its most simple form; that the whole exists independently from the component parts…
The Whole. The Parts
Repetition of forms or colors in a composition is pleasing in much the same way rhythm is pleasing in music. The forms aren’t necessarily identical – there will be variety within the repetition – yet the correspondence will still be discernable.
Gestalt theorists followed the basic principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, the whole (a picture, this wedding scene, above) carries a different and altogether greater meaning than its individual components (lights, people, laughter, dancing, white dress, etc). In viewing the “whole,” a cognitive process takes place – the mind makes a leap from comprehending the parts to realizing the whole. Once again: The whole exists independently from the component parts.
The prominent founders of Gestalt theory are Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka. I am proud to state for the record I am a prominent founder of the Hartley Wedding…together with that other “part” which makes the sum – Mr. H!
