Psychology of Art

Acknowledgements

• Dr. Ken Stange, Nipissing University

• Matt Wribican, Warhol Museum

Introduction to Art

• What is Art?

“Art is a man’s name.”

– Andy Warhol

• “Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed.” – Kahlil Gibran

• “Art is magic delivered from the lie of being truth.” – Theodor Adorno

• “Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.” - Twyla Tharp

• “Art is an invention of aesthetics, which in turn is an invention of philosophers. What we call art is a game.” - Ocatvio Paz

• “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has ever known.” – Oscar Wilde

• “Art is science made clear.” - Wilson Mizner• “Art is the proper task in life.” – Friedrich Nietzsche• “Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.” –

Stephen Sondheim• “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our

souls.” – Pablo Picasso• “Art is anything you can get away with.” - Marshall McLuhan

The Nature of Art

• Wollheim – “One of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture”

Dictionary Definition

• noun /ärt/• The expression or application of human creative skill and

imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. “The art of the Renaissance”

• Works produced by such skill and imagination. “His collection of modern art”

• Creative activity resulting in the production of paintings, drawings, or sculpture. “She's good at art”

Tolstoy’s Reflections

• “Art begins when one person, with the object of joining another or others to himself in one and the same feeling, expresses that feeling by certain external indications.”

• “Art… is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals and of humanity.”

12 Universal Features of Art (Dutton, 2006)

Directed Pleasure

• The art object is valued as a source of immediate experiential pleasure

Ansel Adams (1942) “The Grand Tetons & Snake River”

Skill or Virtuosity

• Creation of the art object requires specialized skills

Style

• Art objects are made in recognizable styles according to rules of form, composition, expression

Novelty and Creativity

• Art is valued for its novelty, creativity, originality, and capacity to grab attention and surprise the audience

(Ron Mueck sculptures)

Criticism

• Art exists alongside a critical language of judgment and appreciation

• Professional criticism is a performance of its own and is subject to evaluation

Representation

• Art imitates real or imagined experiences of the world

(Van Gogh, 1889 “Starry Night”)

“Special” Focus

• Works of art are made a separate and dramatic focus of attention

Expressive Individuality

• Individual expression is valued, sometimes over technical competence

Francis Bacon (1953) “Study after Valazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X”

Emotional Saturation

• The emotions provoked by the represented content• The emotional flavor or tone of a piece Picasso (1937) “Guernica”; Vermeer (1665) “The Girl with

the Pearl Earring”

Intellectual Challenge

• Works of art can stretch the normal perceptual and intellectual boundaries, giving one a source of aesthetic pleasure

(Rauschenberg, 1955, Untitled)

Art Traditions and Institutions

• Art objects are given significance by placing them in a historical and cultural context

(Delacroix, 1830, “Liberty Leading the People”)

Imaginative Experience

• Artistic experience takes place in the theatre of the imagination

(Hopper, 1942, “Nighthawks”)

Art and Aesthetics

• Aesthetics - a branch of philosophy examining the meaning of art – aka the “Philosophy of Art”

• Origins in Aristotle, Kant, Heidigger, Schopenhauer among others…

• Kant: The “Faculty of Judgment” allows us to make aesthetic judgments. These judgments are both subjective and universal. A judgment which is uninfluenced by charm or emotion and whose determining ground, therefore, is simply finality of form, is a “Pure judgment of taste."

Aesthetic Experience

“Art is what produces an aesthetic response in at least some individuals and was created by a sentient creature.” – Ken Stange

Aesthetic Experience

• Emotion “This photo makes me feel wistful.”

• Cognition: “It looks like he needs a shave.”

• Recollection: “That photo reminds me of my grandfather.”

Functions of Art (Stange, 2010)

• Magical Control• Religious Service• Biological Need• Need for Order• Need for Stimulation• Need for Catharsis• Artistic Gratification

• Communication• Service to the State• Education• Enlightenment• Entertainment• Therapy

Magical Control

Magura Cave Paintings (Bulgaria)

Religious Service

Biological Need

Need for Order

Need for Stimulation

Need for Catharsis

Artistic Gratification

• “I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s; I will not reason and compare; my business is to create.” - William Blake

• “Give me a museum and I’ll fill it.” - Pablo Picasso

Communication

Daddona (2005)

Service to the State

Education

Enlightenment

Erro (1958)

Entertainment

Therapy

What is the Psychology of Art?

• There is no formal sub-discipline in Psychology corresponding to this; APA Division 10 Psychology and the Arts

• An investigation into the psychological underpinnings of the creation, execution, apprehension, and comprehension of art

• The scientific methods of psychology are applied to this area of study

• Two foci: the creative artist and the person viewing the art

The Creative Artist

• Personality Traits• Creativity• Mental Illness and

Creativity• Motivations

The Viewer of Art

• Neurocognitive processes• Emotions elicited• Personal meaning and organization of

sentiments Man Ray (1926) “Noir et Blanche”

Empirical Aesthetics

• Scientific study of aesthetic perceptions of art• Attempt is to objectively study reactions to art• IAEA

A Few Seminal Publications on Psychology of Art

• Vygotsky (1925) “The Psychology of Art”• Dewey (1934) “Art as Experience”• Malraux (1949) “The Psychology of Art”• Jung (1964) “Man and his Symbols”• Arnheim (1966) “Toward a Psychology of Art”• Wollheim (1968) “Art and its Objects: An

Introduction to Aesthetics”