Introduction
Moles's French study later appears in English as Information Theory and Esthetic Perception. It examines how art objects are perceived as informational messages and how redundancy and complexity contribute to aesthetic experience. Alongside Bense's work, it supplies an important theoretical background for information aesthetics and subsequent debates about computational form.
View full image ↗Cover of the Illini Books English paperback of Information Theory and Esthetic Perception, catalogued as a 1969 edition. A later English edition of the 1958 French work.
Abraham Moles; translation Joel E. Cohen / University of Illinois Press · Rights remain with the respective holders; reproduction does not imply an open licence
Source · Information Theory and Esthetic Perception · Illini Books edition ↗RESEARCH ACCOUNT
Aesthetic perception becomes a question of informational organisation.
ANTI-AI ARCHIVE · Revised 2026-10-02
The French work and English edition
Moles brings information theory into a discussion of aesthetic perception. The entry retains the French publication in 1958 and the English edition in 1966 as separate chronological layers. The NLM catalogue identifies the English edition, but a catalogue record does not establish every argument in the book or make the translation date the theory’s beginning.
Section sources: Théorie de l'information et perception esthétique
Information and viewing experience
Read with Shannon and Bense, the work prompts questions about complexity, repetition and novelty in viewing. The archive preserves that question without equating more information with better art. Titles, exhibition contexts and viewers’ knowledge also participate in meaning and cannot simply be replaced by a numerical measure.
Section sources: Théorie de l'information et perception esthétique
Sources for this account
NLM bibliographic record and the research master’s edition relationship checked; the whole book was not read.
This account expands the archive within the cited scope. Historical interpretation is not presented as the original author’s statement or as a proven causal influence. The account and translation are AI-assisted, pending independent human review. Section references identify evidence without claiming independent verification of every historical statement.
Continue with a comparative question
Compare the methods, forms of control or presentation contexts of this entry and A Mathematical Theory of Communication.
Compare the methods, forms of control or presentation contexts of this entry and Aesthetica / Introduction to Information-Theoretic Aesthetics.
Dates & version record
Date displayed for this node: 1958 / 1966 · Historical date recorded for the source: 1958 / 1966
These dates refer to the historical event or recorded version, not this page’s publication date. The original date precision and unresolved questions are retained.
Original sources & further reading
These links lead to the cited paper, article, institution or conference page. External texts retain their source languages.
Théorie de l'information et perception esthétique
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/246521
Current cited URL
Théorie de l'information et perception esthétique
https://books.google.com/books/about/Information_Theory_and_Esthetic_Percepti.html?id=N-xOAAAAMAAJ
URL cited in a research master or supplement; it may have moved or expired
Provenance, translation & verification
Timeline entry #011 · Historical node
Research materials & supplement references · 1
AI Art Genealogy Research Master · p. 6 · 009
Date as recorded: 1958 / 1966
Information Theory and Esthetic Perception ↗
Théorie de l'information et perception esthétique
Archive account based on the listed research materials, not a full translation of the linked work. AI-assisted translation; independent human review pending.
The master’s research claims and dates await independent verification.
Cite this node
ANTI-AI ARCHIVE. Information Theory and Esthetic Perception. Art-history node #011. https://salondesrefuses.cn/en/art-history/009
For specific historical claims, also cite the original sources above and include your access date. This account is not a full translation of the linked work.
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