FROM AESTHETICS TO PSYCHOLOGY - NOTES ON VYGOTSKY PSYCHOLOGY-OF-ART

Vygotsky's investigations on art in tile early part of his career prep ared the way for-his discovery of the semiotic-historical dimension of psychological develop ment. The Psychology of Art was a pioneer work in the field of art psychology, exploring issues such as the role of e motion in art, the nature of aesthetic experience, the semiotic nature of psychological processes, and the foundations of a Marxist psycholo gy and a Marxist aesthetics. Central to the elaboration of Vygotsky's ideas was his dialogue with, and criticism of, Russian formalism. In t his respect, his ideas on art psychology have many points of contact w ith the criticism of the formal method in literary studies by Bakhtin.