Film music and Heinz Werner's theory of physiognomic perception.

Abstract

Physiognomic a term coined by Heinz Werner, refers to a mode of perception attuned to expression or expressive attributes. The term applies readily to the perception of faces, gestures, intonation, and mood. It has also been implicated in the perception of the arts and music and is therefore relevant to understanding the perception of film that is accompanied by music. The concept of physiognomic perception distinguishes perceptual experience from emotional response. It is proposed that this distinction must be maintained in analyzing the film-music experience and its dynamics in order that perceptual properties of music and film be identified as such instead of spuriously attributed to emotional responses on the part of the film spectator. Furthermore, the concept of physiognomic perception provides an alternative to the view that music contributes to film perception by simply adding associations. In making this argument, the paper reviews the theory of physiognomic citing historical antecedents in classical Greek philosophy relative to physiognomy and physiognomies, and ideas subsequently derived from that intellectual tradition in terms of the musical modes and affections in music, as formulated in medieval and baroque music theory, respectively. Connections are also made with the general notion of perception, Lipps' theory of empathy, and more contemporary psychological aesthetic ideas of Arnheim and Gibson.