Dataset Information

The Development of Shared Liking of Representational but not Abstract Art in Primary School Children and Their Justifications for Liking.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how aesthetic preferences are shared among individuals, and its developmental time course, is a fundamental question in aesthetics. It has been shown that semantic associations, in response to representational artworks, overlap more strongly among individuals than those generated by abstract artworks and that the emotional valence of the associations also overlaps more for representational artworks. This valence response may be a key driver in aesthetic appreciation. The current study tested predictions derived from the semantic association account in a developmental context. Twenty 4-, 6-, 8- and 10-year-old children (n = 80) were shown 20 artworks (10 representational, 10 abstract) and were asked to rate each artwork and to explain their decision. Cross-observer agreement in aesthetic preferences increased with age from 4-8 years for both abstract and representational art. However, after age 6 the level of shared appreciation for representational and abstract artworks diverged, with significantly higher levels of agreement for representational than abstract artworks at age 8 and 10. The most common justifications for representational artworks involved subject matter, while for abstract artworks formal artistic properties and color were the most commonly used justifications. Representational artwork also showed a significantly higher proportion of associations and emotional responses than abstract artworks. In line with predictions from developmental cognitive neuroscience, references to the artist as an agent increased between ages 4 and 6 and again between ages 6 and 8, following the development of Theory of Mind. The findings support the view that increased experience with representational content during the life span reduces inter-individual variation in aesthetic appreciation and increases shared preferences. In addition, brain and cognitive development appear to impact on art appreciation at milestone ages.

SUBMITTER: Rodway P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4743399 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Development of Shared Liking of Representational but not Abstract Art in Primary School Children and Their Justifications for Liking.

Rodway Paul P Kirkham Julie J Schepman Astrid A Lambert Jordana J Locke Anastasia A

Frontiers in human neuroscience 20160205

Understanding how aesthetic preferences are shared among individuals, and its developmental time course, is a fundamental question in aesthetics. It has been shown that semantic associations, in response to representational artworks, overlap more strongly among individuals than those generated by abstract artworks and that the emotional valence of the associations also overlaps more for representational artworks. This valence response may be a key driver in aesthetic appreciation. The current st ...[more]

PMID: 26903834

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Project description:We report two studies considering the potential for gallery lighting conditions to modulate appraisals and emotional experience with works of visual art. As recently documented in a number of papers, art appreciation represents a complex blend of formal artwork factors, personalities and backgrounds of viewers, and multiple aspects of context regarding where and how art is experienced. Among the latter, lighting would be expected to play a fundamental role. However, surprisingly, this has received little empirical assessment, with almost no ecologically valid gallery analyses and no between-participant designs which would minimize awareness of lighting changes themselves. Here, we employed a controlled paradigm using a spontaneous art viewing context, a gallery-like setting, and a proprietary lighting system which allowed the minute adjustment of lighting intensity/temperature (CCT). Participants viewed a selection of original representational and abstract art under three different CCT conditions (Study 1), modulated between participants, and then reported on their artwork appraisal and emotional experience. The selected lighting temperatures were chosen based on an initial investigation of existing art museums within the Vienna area, addressing how these institutions themselves light their art-a question which, also somewhat surprisingly, has not often been considered. We also allowed the same participants to set the light temperature themselves in order to test hypotheses regarding what might be an 'ideal' lighting condition for art. In Study 2, we explored the question of whether artworks made by an artist to match specific lighting conditions show a resulting connection to the ratings of viewers when shown in the same or different light. Results showed almost no effects from lighting changes in both studies. Viewers' self-set light temperature (mean = 3777 K) did roughly coincide with the suggested most enjoyable conditions for everyday living and some past research on art viewing, but again showed wide interpersonal variance. Results, and a general review of lighting factors are considered in order to provide art researchers and curators with a tool for conducting future study.

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Dataset Information

The Development of Shared Liking of Representational but not Abstract Art in Primary School Children and Their Justifications for Liking.

Publications

The Development of Shared Liking of Representational but not Abstract Art in Primary School Children and Their Justifications for Liking.

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