«Interventi davanti alle opere»: the psychology of perception engages with Abstract Art

Abstract

This contribution examines "Interventi davanti alle opere", a series of round-table discussions held between 1975 and 1976 at the initiative of psychologists Paolo Bonaiuto, Gaetano Kanizsa, and Cesare Musatti. These meetings brought together art historians and critics – Luciano Caramel, Gillo Dorfles, and Alberto Veca – with psychologists and artists in an effort to redefine interpretative frameworks and develop operational methodologies for the analysis of abstract-geometric artworks from an interdisciplinary perspective.
The research focuses on the reports produced during sessions dedicated to the works of Xanti Schawinsky, Bruno Munari, Augusto Garau, and Alberto Biasi (unpublished). The study highlights the intense intellectual vitality of the decade and, above all, the pivotal role played by the collaborative engagement of art historians, critics, artists, and psychologists. It further underscores how interdisciplinary research, despite its complexity and inherent challenges, constituted a central component of the cultural and artistic debate of the period.