Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
2017, Vol. 11, No. 3, 245–264
© 2017 American Psychological Association
1931-3896/17/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aca0000141
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Beyond the Lab: An Examination of Key Factors Influencing Interaction
With ‘Real’ and Museum-Based Art
Matthew Pelowski and Michael Forster
Pablo P. L. Tinio
University of Vienna
Montclair State University
Maria Scholl and Helmut Leder
University of Vienna
The authors present a comprehensive review and theoretical discussion of factors that could influence our
interaction with museum-based art. Art is an important stimulus that reveals core insights about human
behavior and thought. Art perception is in fact often considered one of the few uniquely human
phenomena whereby we process multiple types of information, experience myriad emotions, make
evaluations, and where these elements not only occur but dynamically combine. Art viewing often occurs
in museums, which—in conjunction with “real” artworks—may contribute greatly to experience. However, to date, psychological aesthetics studies have only begun to consider in-museum examinations,
focusing instead on highly controlled laboratory-based studies, and leading to calls for a need to shift to
ecologically valid examinations. To provide a foundation for such research, the authors consider what
key psychological differences may be expected between original/reproduced and museum/lab-based art,
and why the art experience may be different when occurring within the museum context. They also
review factors that should be controlled for, or which may raise new, unexplored areas for empirical
research. These include 3 main levels: the artwork, the viewer, and physical aspects of the museum. The
authors connect these factors to a model of art processing and relate to findings from sociology and
general museum studies, which have largely been overlooked in psychological aesthetics research.
Keywords: visual art, museum study, ecologically valid study, art perception, context effects
Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aca0000141.supp
core behavioral and psychological phenomena (Cela-Conde, Agnati, Huston, Mora, & Nadal, 2011). Art is able to provoke myriad
emotions, sensations, and physiological reactions. It can evoke
memories, judgments, and encourage meaning making. Art is also
associated with a host of particularly intense reactions— chills,
awe, anger, disgust, epiphany, and crying—which have recently
piqued the interest of psychologists (Pelowski & Akiba, 2011). As
a result, the last two decades have seen psychology of art and
aesthetics grow into an active field, with important relations to all
social, human, and even neurobiological sciences (Pearce et al.,
2016).
“Why should the casual viewer [and the laboratory reproduction] be
our source for characterizing the art experience?”
—(Carroll, 1986, p. 66)
Every day, millions of people across the globe encounter art.
Whether in a museum, a city-center, or in one’s home, art is an
omnipresent part of human life. People direct their interest and
allocate their resources to art display and production, and many
regard art as a pinnacle of human culture and of the human species
itself (Zaidel, 2010). For scholars who study human behavior, art
also represents a special object that when experienced—as when
looking at a painting— has the potential to provide insights into
We wish to acknowledge previous reviews for general museums studies
(e.g., Bitgood, 1992) and sociological approaches (Griswold et al., 2013),
which have served as an important frame for the present, psychologyfocused, analysis, as well as the recent reviews by Tinio et al. (2014) and
Smith (2014), which began collecting such previously overlooked discussion for use in psychological studies.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Matthew Pelowski, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, A-1010 Vienna, Austria. E-mail: matthew.pelowski@univie
.ac.at
Editor’s Note. Paul J. Silvia served as the action editor for this article.—RR-P
Matthew Pelowski and Michael Forster, Faculty of Psychology, Department of
Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna; Pablo
P. L. Tinio, Department of Educational Foundations, Montclair State University;
Maria Scholl and Helmut Leder, Faculty of Psychology, Department of Basic
Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna.
The writing of this article was supported by a grant to Matthew Pelowski
and Helmut Leder by Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA-IF-2014-EF: Individual Fellowships, 655379).
245
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246
PELOWSKI, FORSTER, TINIO, SCHOLL, AND LEDER
At the same time, despite the field’s growth, the psychological
study of art faces a major conundrum regarding how and where art
is studied versus where art is actually experienced. From the
founding of psychology of art as a scientific field (e.g., Fechner,
1876), scholars have generally agreed that a major component of
art’s impact and character involves the tangible, immediate, and
“real” experience of original artworks (Tschacher et al., 2012). As
put by Berlyne and Ogilvie (1974, p. 182), “the ‘synthetic’ approach”—involving studies in a laboratory using reproductions—
although important, “must sooner or later be supplemented with
‘analytic’ studies in which reaction to genuine works” is investigated “with a view to unraveling their determinants.” This realization has only grown in recent decades with the increasing
awareness of the importance of context in aesthetic judgments
(Lauring et al., 2016). Researchers are becoming concerned with
the need to consider art reception as a complex interplay of the
expectations of the viewer, the characteristics of the art object, and
the conditions in which it is experienced.
Those conditions often involve the museum. The amount of
(often public) money invested in museums is growing, as are the
number of blockbuster exhibitions (Leder, 2013) and the popularity of art tourism (Chan & Yeoh, 2010). Along with this comes the
realization of the need to better understand and study the experience of art within this unique setting (Brieber, Nadal, & Leder,
2015; Mastandrea, Bartoli, & Bove, 2007, 2009; Pelowski, 2015;
J. K. Smith, 2014; Tröndle, Greenwood, Kirchberg, & Tschacher,
2014). Scholars also argue that current experimental approaches,
dominated by laboratory studies, may lead to an understanding of
the aesthetic experience that is wholly detached from, or even in
opposition to, “real” museum art interactions (Augustin, Wagemans, & Carbon, 2012; Brown & Dissanayake, 2009; Cela-Conde
et al., 2011; Cross & Ticini, 2012)—an argument that is only now
receiving support from empirical research (e.g., Specker, Tinio, &
Van Elk, in press).
This state of affairs has led to a call for more ecologically valid
studies and a renewed demand for research incorporating the
museum (Brieber et al., 2015; Mastandrea et al., 2007, 2009;
Pelowski, 2015; J. K. Smith, 2014; Tröndle, Greenwood, et al.,
2014). This can provide clear hypotheses regarding what components may differ between originals and laboratory reproductions,
or which may interact with typical art-related experiments, and that
can address what makes original pieces and museum settings so
potentially special in our engagement. To accomplish this, however, it is necessary to systematically consider the theoretical
foundations, current theories, and empirical findings related to
museum-based art.
In this article, we examine key factors that directly influence the
experience of real art in the genuine context of the museum and
that may differ when examined in the laboratory. We will focus on
three sets of factors: (a) features of the artwork, which includes a
work’s physical and conceptual qualities; (b) characteristics of the
viewer, including personality and demographics, and (c) characteristics of the presentational context, which refer to the manner in
which an artwork is presented as well as physical and architectural
features and visitor behavior. This review will also feature a
number of tables (included as online supplementary materials),
that provide a comprehensive summary of relevant past studies and
outstanding questions, which will be referred to throughout the
article, and with factors also connected to a model for art process-
ing which may provide better context for these factors’ specific
influence. We also discuss research from the fields of museum
studies and sociology, which often show intriguing overlaps with
psychology, but in this field have largely been overlooked (Tinio,
Smith, & Smith, 2014).1
Current Studies of Museum/Laboratory, Original
Artworks/Reproductions Differences
Before the main discussion, it is useful to briefly paint a picture
of what we are describing regarding museum/real versus laboratory/reproduced art. Although interactions can occur in numerous
settings, many would associate the art experience with the museum
or gallery space. Experiencing art in a museum typically involves
a conscious decision to travel to such a setting, pay an entry fee,
and proceed from room to room while perusing a collection of art
and stopping and looking at those pieces that draw attention, all the
while being surrounded by other visitors typically within a rather
opulent building. This is not, however, how art is met in a laboratory study.
Laboratory studies are constrained by protocols associated with
highly controlled experiments (Cela-Conde et al., 2011) and involve the reduction of extraneous variables so that only the effects
of key manipulated variables manifest. This often goes hand-inhand with the need for a large number of stimuli and the use of
repeated measures (Pelowski & Akiba, 2011). Thus, one reaches
the following paradigm: Participants— often undergraduate students participating for class credit or money—arrive individually
at a laboratory. They may talk briefly with a researcher and are
often told that they will see “some art” or participate in an
art-related task. They are then seated at a chair before a screen and
are shown an image for a few (typically less than 5) seconds,
followed by an intervening pause, cue, and then the next image. A
task is often involved, such as making an evaluation. What results
is a parade of digitized art images, presented without apparent
reason or interconnection. In a paradigm involving brain imaging,
the participants may find themselves lying prone in an MRI
machine, wearing earplugs, with their arm and head movements
restricted, and viewing “art” projected on a small mirror. If electroencephalogram (EEG) or eye-tracking is involved, the art viewing experience might be preceded by a period of electrode fitting
or calibration, with instructions to avoid moving the head and
body.
Given the above comparison, it is not surprising that researchers
have begun to identify differences between art experiences in the
laboratory and museum. Laboratory studies are acknowledged to
have made important advances, especially concerning the basic
processing of low-level features of artworks (e.g., color, style,
symmetry, fluency) and related emotional, physiological, and evaluative responses. However, it is also suggested that actual experiences with art are probably much more complex than can be
captured in such a setting. Scholars have further argued that
1
Note that this article purposefully limits itself to the viewer, artwork,
and museum aspects because these factors most closely touch targets of
laboratory research. Although important, we do not consider, for example,
social aspects. Unfortunately, the present manuscript does not have the
space to give this topic its due. We also limit analysis to static, visual media
(e.g., painting, photography, sculpture) because these are the topics of most
current research with visual art.
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FACTORS INFLUENCING ‘REAL’ AND MUSEUM-BASED ART
current approaches to studying the art experience cannot hope to
capture aesthetic responses arising from the interplay of emotion,
cognition, expectations, physical movements, and longer, more
open-ended interactions, which may lead to quite different outcomes (Augustin et al., 2012; Brown & Dissanayake, 2009; Cross
& Ticini, 2012; Tallis, 2008).
The few studies that have compared art experiences in the laboratory and museum have mostly shown differences (see Table 1).
Locher, Smith, and Smith (2001, 1999) compared slide-projected
images of paintings (later followed up with postcard-printed images; Locher & Dolese, 2004) against the corresponding originals
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They found that although
evaluations related to pictorial content or composition were gen-
247
erally similar across presentation formats, viewers, irrespective of
art background or training evaluated original artworks higher on
hedonic measures of interest and pleasantness and found them
more surprising, rare, and immediate. In a more recent study,
Brieber, Nadal, Leder, and Rosenberg (2014) had two groups
freely view an exhibition of original photographs or their reproductions in the laboratory. Original photographs were liked more,
viewed longer, and found more interesting. Brieber et al. (2015)
compared evaluations of contemporary paintings and sculptures in
a museum against a computer-simulated version of the exhibition.
Originals were liked more and found more arousing, positive,
interesting, and better remembered. In the same study, after first
viewing the real works in the museum, participants also found
Table 1
Comparisons of Real Art and/or Museum Context Versus Digital Reproductions/Lab Viewing
Authors
Comparison
Art type, participants, and measures
(Locher, Smith, & Smith,
1999)
Evaluation of real paintings (in
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York) vs. slideprojected or monitorpresented images.
(Locher, Smith, & Smith,
2001)
Follow-up and re-analysis of
Locher et al. (1999) dataset,
comparing assessment
between trained and non-art
trained viewers.
(Locher & Dolese, 2004)
Follow-up of Locher et al.
(1999, 2001) with additional
condition of postcard-size
print images of paintings.
9 oil paintings (14th–18th c.), 140 adult
museum visitors (109 women, M age !
45, 10–15% art training. Unrestricted
viewing. Evaluate for sixteen adjective
pairs (9-point scale). Between-subject
assessment.
Same paintings, conditions and participant
dataset as above. Training assessed via
7-point scale. In addition, 55 untrained
undergraduate students (age 18–24)
viewed slide and computer conditions in
laboratory. Between-subject assessment.
Same conditions as Locher et al. (2001).
Additionally, 40 undergraduate students
in postcard condition (19 art majors, 21
untrained, M age ! 21.5). Betweensubject assessment.
14 photos/photo series from
“distURBANces. How fiction beats
reality” exhibition. Lab format used 31”
screen. 44 psychology students (30
women, age 18–31,). Unrestricted
viewing. Evaluate for liking, interest,
understanding, ambiguity scales. Viewing
time recorded by mobile eye tracking.
Between-subject assessment.
25 paintings, photos, collages from “Beauty
Contest.” Simulated version included
labels and art reproductions (9.85 " 7.50
in., 24== screen). Could navigate between
artworks and hide/show info; previous/
next work also shown on screen. 137
psychology students (93 women, M
age ! 22.5) assigned to three groups
(museum–lab, lab–museum, lab–lab).
Unrestricted viewing. Evaluate for
arousal, valence, liking, interest,
understanding.
18 conceptual art photographs from “Seven
years Raum mit Licht”. Art viewed on
tables in gallery or lab for real condition;
on 15” laptop (in gallery/lab) for
reproduction. 110 psychology students
(77 F, M age ! 24.2), 4 groups: gallery/
original, gallery/reproduction,
lab/original, lab/reproduction. Evaluate
liking, interest, arousal, valence,
understanding.
(Brieber, Nadal, Leder, & Evaluation of real contemporary
art photographs (Museum
Rosenberg, 2014)
Startgalerie Artothek, MUSA,
Vienna) vs. reproductions in
lab on computer.
(Brieber, Nadal, & Leder, Evaluation of real contemporary
2015)
paintings, photos and collages
(Museum Startgalerie
Artothek, Vienna) vs.
computer simulated version
of exhibition in laboratory.
(Brieber, Leder, & Nadal, Compare interaction of separate
2015)
factors real art vs.
reproductions (Raum mit
Licht Gallery, Vienna) and
lab vs. museum context.
Findings
Real art evaluated as more immediate,
similar, and pleasant.
Main effect for format. Originals rated by
untrained/trained as more interesting,
pleasant, surprising, rare, immediate,
apparent, dense. No sig. dif. between
two non-real formats.
Training " Format not significant.
Original sig. more surprising, pleasant,
interesting. Postcard images rated as
significantly less varied and larger in
scale than original.
Original more liked, interesting, viewed
longer.
Original art more arousing, liked, positive,
interesting, understood. No change in
ratings for lab–lab group. Museum–lab
order ratings lower than all other lab
conditions, suggests disappointment.
Participants recalled more artworks if
first viewed real version.
MANCOVA with physical context
(gallery, laboratory) and genuineness
(genuine, reproduction) as betweensubjects factors not significant for main
effects/interactions.
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248
PELOWSKI, FORSTER, TINIO, SCHOLL, AND LEDER
laboratory reproductions particularly disappointing. Specker et al.
(in press) directly compared people’s aesthetic experience of the
same artwork in the laboratory (reproduction) and the museum
(using the Unusual Aesthetic Experience Scale by Silvia & Nusbaum, 2011, which assesses intense reactions such as awe or
crying) and found that the art experience was generally more
intense in the museum as compared to the laboratory. Such findings are supported by a number of theoretical discussions (Jacobsen, 2006; Pelowski, 2015) arguing that studies have almost completely ignored many of the more intriguing emotional and
cognitive responses—novelty, anger, anxiety, profound emotions,
and personal transformation. These responses may actually be at
the heart of the human fascination with art, and are extremely
difficult to arouse in artificial contexts. This once again raises the
fundamental question of what key factors— especially those that
have been neglected by previous research—must be considered
when investigating the art experience.
A Framework, and Previous Findings Regarding
Experiences With Art in Museums
As a framework for this examination, our discussion will also
use a cognitive model of art processing by Leder et al. (2004;
updated in Leder & Nadal, 2014; Leder, Markey, & Pelowski,
2015), which has been used extensively to frame empirical investigations of the art experience (J. K. Smith, 2014; Tinio, 2013). As
shown in Figure 1, the model proposes a series of informationprocessing stages wherein we attend to and process aspects of
artworks: (a) an initial preclassification (presumably regarding
presentational context); (b) perceptual analysis, which involves
initial processing of low-level visual features (e.g., shape, contrast); (c) memory integration, during which art is processed via
previous experiences, expertise, and the particular schema held by
the viewer; (d) explicit classification, which involves attention to
conceptual or formal aspects of art (e.g., style/content); and (e)
cognitive mastering, in which individuals combine elements and
create meaning, and culminating in the outputs of understanding,
aesthetic judgment, and affective response. There is also the possibility of viewers cycling again through various stages, as might
occur if individual factors draw specific interest, or stopping and
moving on to a new work. Recently, the model has also been
augmented with additional stages (5B, 5C), which describe additional top-down, viewer-centered outputs (Pelowski & Akiba,
2011; Pelowski, Markey, Forster, Gerger, & Leder, 2017). These
account for situations, for example, in which the viewer fails to
understand or cognitively master his or her engagement (as designated by the small box at Stage 5), or where an artwork is viewed
as somehow threatening or challenging to the self, which can lead
to an artwork’s de-valuation and potentially negative affect. Alternatively, this situation could also elicit self-reflection and modification of expectations, which themselves could lead to insight
and a positive experience.
Although we will not delve into the nuances of these stages, the
model is useful for considering the potential influence of various
factors in art experiences. As shown in Figure 1, each stage of the
model is associated with specific factors inherent in artworks or
the presentational contexts (e.g., Stage 1 is related to artwork size).
These factors directly impact the specific processes occurring in a
stage, and thus influence the output and subsequent processes in
other stages of the model. For the purpose of the present discussion, we have updated the model to highlight these factors (shown
in the top gray sections of Figure 1), as well as the specific
understanding, evaluative, affective, or perceptual processing, displayed in the boxes at the bottom of the figure. For each factor, we
posit hypotheses for how, and at what point, it might influence the
art viewing experience. Returning to the above example, the model
would suggest that factors such as size, hanging position, lighting,
and so forth, in the Preclassification stage, may influence the
perceived importance of an object or the motivation of the viewer,
or even the viewer’s propensity to classify something as art or to
take a detached, form-focused versus pragmatic, content-focused
approach.
Throughout this review we will therefore refer to these stages,
and thus the main processing sequences or implications, as hypotheses for the reviewed factors’ influence. Although we cannot
discuss these implications for every reviewed element, we have
also provided the model stages posited to be influenced by each
factor in the accompanying tables (supplementary material, bold
text). By cross-referencing these stages with the outputs specified
in Figure 1, the reader will find the hypotheses for these factors’
influence. Within the figure, the input factors are also divided into
three sections (artwork, viewer, and museum context), which also
constitutes this article’s organization.
Features of the Artwork
The first set of factors involves features inherent in artworks
(online supplementary file, Supplemental Table S1), and focus on
the texture, immediacy, physical presence, size, and perceived
authenticity, as well as on remnants of the artist’s touch and effort,
and the phenomenon of seeing objects as “art.”
Texture
Most artworks, including paintings and photographs, are not
truly two-dimensional. Even seemingly flat artworks have some
level of texture. There is evidence that texture or haptic quality
(e.g., impasto paintings, smooth glazes, rough canvas, or cool
bronzes) may be particularly important for how art is perceived
and evaluated. In terms of the model, this texture could play a key
role in the second Perceptual Analysis stage (see Figure 1), and
may influence early visual processing (e.g., of structural complexity, symmetry, and balance) as well as level of attention, initial
affective reaction, or the overall impression or gist derived from
art. For example, Locher, Overbeeke, and Wensveen (2010) noted
that haptic information may be rapidly recognized from sensory
information. Hekkert (2012) added that perceiving tactile qualities
may impact the perceived balance between unity (typicality) and
variety (novelty), with greater influence on the former in tactile
sensation and the latter in visual perception. Concerning general
museum studies, Bitgood (1992) noted that multisensory or threedimensional objects, when compared to flatter images, may increase attention or level of interest.
Texture is also a key component of certain art techniques, such
as brushstrokes and paint layering. For example, sprezzatura, or
studied carelessness and looseness of paint application, attributed
to many Modern artists as well as classic artists such as Rembrandt, could signify an artist’s personal touch and has been noted
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FACTORS INFLUENCING ‘REAL’ AND MUSEUM-BASED ART
Figure 1. Model of art processing, based on Leder et al. (2004; updated in Leder & Nadal, 2014; Pelowski &
Akiba, 2011). Context/artwork inputs highlighted.
as key to the appreciation of works painted in such a manner
(Funch, 1993). Texture, such as raised brushstrokes at occluding
edges, can also denote visual outlines in artworks. Ramachandran
and Hirstein (1999) argued that the visual cortex, used in early
processing, responds mainly to edges or contrasts, but not to
homogeneous surface colors. Thus, this may modulate viewers’
selective attention and could heighten the visual fluency associated
with viewing an artwork. Verisimilitude or incongruence between
how something looks and how it (might) feel, can also lead to
pleasure, surprise, or tension (Ludden, Schifferstein, & Hekkert,
2012; Ziolkowski, 1977).
Texture is one key factor that differentiates between an original
artwork and its reproduction. A painting’s or sculpture’s threedimensional quality is flattened when it is reproduced, thus resulting in the loss of both haptic and visual information. Such loss may
be especially detrimental to the aesthetic experience of some art
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PELOWSKI, FORSTER, TINIO, SCHOLL, AND LEDER
styles, such as impressionism and postimpressionism, which are
heavily textured. Reproductions minimize or eliminate these elements.
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Immediacy and Physical Presence
A related issue involves the physical presence of real art as it
may be experienced in a museum. The interplay of the physical
aspects of a work and its content may be key to reception (influencing stages from the preclassification to perceptual analysis, as
well as explicit classification). Dufrenne (1973, p. 303) noted that
“ultimately . . . materials become aesthetic by advertising themselves . . . displaying all of their sensuous richness.” Similarly,
Bersson (1982, p. 35) noted that awareness of the sensuous “immediacy” of materials can provide a gateway (preclassification) to
a contemplative aesthetic experience. This idea may be particularly
important for certain art styles. Saltz (1997, p. 126) noted that
much modern art was created with the expectation of “presence
and immediacy,” requiring the physical sharing of a space between
object and perceiver. Mid 20th century paintings such as abstract
expressionism also emphasized the “raw everydayness”—weight, viscosity, brushstrokes, layers, drips— of a unique medium (Dezeuze,
2005, p. 17). Dezeuze similarly suggested that pop art, readymades, and conceptual art may require a sensual presence that
could activate the tension between the “everyday object” character
of artworks and their status as “art,” worthy of display in museums
(also Vitz, 1988). Art with special materials (gold leaf, rich glazes;
Locher et al., 2010) may also influence the work’s perceived value
(derived mainly in the explicit classification stage and feeding into
final aesthetic judgment) that may not translate in reproductions
(see also Supplemental Table S1).
Physical Remnants of the Artist’s Touch and Effort
The basic knowledge that an artwork is a result of a creative act,
and is an object possessing the marks of the artist as evidenced by
brushstrokes, finger marks in clay, and chisel marks on stone,
should also have an impact on its perceived— or expected—
quality, meaning, and importance. Studies have shown that a good
deal of the pleasure that people derive from art might be due to its
being viewed as an end-result of a performance (Dutton, 2009;
Newman & Bloom, 2012). In an empirical study, Kruger, Wirtz,
Van Boven, and Altermatt (2004) found that participants believe
that if a painting took longer to paint, it is aesthetically superior
and worth more money. In similar studies, Newman and Bloom
(2012) asked participants for the value of original artworks or
reproductions, and found that participants assigned greater value to
originals (vs. reproductions) and to works that were produced with
high (vs. low) effort. Interestingly, when comparing low-effort
originals (e.g., a readymade artwork) with high effort duplicates
(e.g., a recreated artwork using new materials), no significant
effect was found for originality, which further suggested the importance placed on the maker, an aspect that relates to the stages
of preclassification, explicit classification, and cognitive mastering.
An artwork could also be considered a dialogue between artist
and materials (e.g., Elkins, 1999). Crowther (1993, p. 22) suggested that the “grounds of our appreciation” may rely on awareness of “feelings or intentions which we take to be embodied” in
art. Freedberg and Gallese (2007, pp. 201–202) noted that viewers
“often feel a form of somatic response” to especially “vigorous
handling of the artistic medium” and to visual evidence of hand
movements. Recreation, from physical signs, of the act of making
may be key for meaning (Seeley & Kozbelt, 2008; Taylor, Witt, &
Grimaldi, 2012). By using the formal clues of the “hand of the
artist,” viewers may also enjoy higher fluency or other perceptual
advantages. This effect was shown by Leder, Bär, and Topolinski
(2012) who had participants perform hand movements that were
concealed from view behind a screen and that were in accordance
with typical strokes of postimpressionist or pointillist paintings.
This positively affected liking of art in the style corresponding to
the movement.
Concerning the artist’s touch, and referencing work on mirror
neurons (Urgesi, Calvo-Merino, Haggard, & Aglioti, 2007), Freedberg and Gallese (2007, p. 197) suggested that artist’s gestures
may “induce the empathetic engagement of the observer, . . .
activating the relevant motor areas in the observer’s brain”
(p. 202). An empirical study by Taylor, Witt, and Grimaldi (2012)
showed that viewing brushstrokes elicits brain responses in motor
regions that correspond to hand or brushing movements in the
direction employed by the artist to make the mark. Umilta, Berchio, Sestito, Freedberg, and Gallese (2012) compared photographs (shown on a screen) of artworks by Lucio Fontana—which
consist of stretched canvas with vertical slashes cut by the artist—
against simplified reproductions with black lines in place of
slashes. Mu rhythm suppression (registered via EEG over sensorymotor and occipital electrode positions) was evoked by the observation of the originals but not the controls. The original works
were also liked more and had greater perceived movement. In
contrast, the controls may have been “merely processed as images”
(Umilta et al., 2012, p. 7). This effect may again be more important
to certain styles such as Abstract art, Expressionism, and Impressionism (see Freedberg & Gallese, 2007), and may also be differently related to expertise (see Supplemental Table S1).
Perceived Authenticity
The idea of the artist’s touch, and original, physical art, also
relates to an artwork’s perceived authenticity. This is a major
distinction between laboratory and museum studies and originals
and reproductions. In the classic book, Ways of Seeing, Berger
(1972, p. 31) suggested that following the traces of the artist’s
gestures in the material “has the effect of closing the distance in
time between the painting of the picture and one’s own act of
looking.” Benjamin (1969), in his famous treatise on the “aura”—
or sense of authenticity— claimed that “even the most perfect
reproduction” lack a “presence in time and space, [or] unique
existence at the place where it happens” (p. 220). Thus, when
speaking of evaluation, it may often be as much the realization that
a work is the genuine object— over and above visual appearance—
that informs reception and expectations. Wolz and Carbon (2014)
found that perceived authenticity had an impact on the estimation
of a painting’s quality and the artist’s talent. On a similar note,
Kirk, Skov, Hulme, Christensen, and Zeki (2009) found that artworks (shown as digital reproductions) that were thought to be
created by esteemed artists and borrowed from museums were
found to be more appealing than artworks thought to be made by
a researcher. An fMRI study by Huang, Bridge, Kemp, and Parker
FACTORS INFLUENCING ‘REAL’ AND MUSEUM-BASED ART
(2011) found that artworks (Rembrandt portraits) perceived as
authentic (vs. copies) resulted in higher activation of orbitofrontal
areas of the brain that are associated with reward (see also Noguchi
& Murota, 2013).
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Seeing Objects as “Art”
One important question to consider when comparing aesthetic
experiences with art in the laboratory and the museum is to what
extent people see a reproduction as an actual artwork? Studies
have shown that believing a work to be art (a consideration made
both in preclassification, based on context, and in explicit classification, based on early processing experience; see Hagtvedt &
Patrick, 2008) may be key for its reception. Art may involve a
transfiguration or suffusing of ordinary things and events with
deeper meaning (e.g., Danto, 1974), which might cause viewers to
look harder for meaning or pay more attention. This aspect would
connect to expectations, which feed into later stages, and has been
empirically related to pleasurable experience (Cupchik, 1995;
Leder et al., 2004), or use of more elaborative processing beyond
simple object recognition (Nadal, Munar, Capó, Rosselló, & CelaConde, 2008).
It should not be expected that just because a researcher shows a
picture of a sculpture or painting that it would be received as an art.
Consider, for example, the discussion of a “transferability thesis”
(Currie, 1985; Locher et al., 1999), which questions whether
viewers are willing to treat an underlying digital reproduction as an
artwork. Several studies, which simplified artworks or contrasted
physical objects against images, have found that these are considered less “real” by viewers. Lacey et al. (2011) contrasted paintings and similarly arranged photographic images and found that
viewers considered the latter not to be art (see also similar results
from Umilta et al., 2012, discussed in Supplemental Table S1). A
recent laboratory study by Pelowski, Gerger, Chetouani, Markey,
and Leder (2017), which presented viewers with a range of artworks and specifically asked them to designate if they were indeed
artworks, found that even in cases of abstract paintings, “yes”
answers were only given about 70% of the time. Readymade or
conceptual art was around 50% of the time.
Considering an object as an artwork may also be particularly
important for challenging or less easily interpretable artworks.
Parsons (1987, p. 74) suggested that “the thought of the artist’s
intentions” may allow us to believe that a work has meaning “even
when we cannot grasp” it. This “faith in the artist” may then
motivate us to “persist in looking,” for example, when moving
from a negative to a positive/insightful reaction in the Cognitive
Mastering stage. Seeing an object as an artwork is particularly
important in cases where an artwork ultimately has no clear
meaning, as in many conceptual works (Goldie & Schellekens,
2010). As put by Danto (1974, p. 142), rather than assuming that
an object is meaningless, we may feel that “it is merely not about
anything” and appreciate it as such.
Classifying something as art may also encourage a detached
“aesthetic” processing mode (e.g., Cupchik, 2013). Wagner, Menninghaus, Hanich, and Jacobsen (2014) touched on this issue in a
study in which participants were shown stimuli depicting disgusting objects, which were framed as either “artistic” photos or
documentary materials. Positive affective responses were higher in
the artistic condition, whereas reported negative emotions were
251
similar in both conditions. Similarly, Gerger, Leder, and Kremer
(2014) presented participants with images of both positively- and
negatively valenced artworks and variably valenced International
Affective Picture System (IAPS) pictures along with information
that the images were art or photograph. They found that positive
emotional reactions—joy and smiling—were reduced for images
labeled as art, while context did not affect negative emotions,
suggesting an aesthetic or “emotional distancing” (p. 174). Expecting to see real art, or potentially revising one’s expectations in the
explicit classification stage, has also been shown to increase liking
or activation in brain areas concerned with reward (Di Dio, Macaluso, & Rizzolatti, 2007; Kirk et al., 2009).
Size
Original artworks are often larger than their reproductions presented on a screen (Clarke, Shortess, & Richter, 1984). Museum
studies have found that larger works generally attract and hold
visitor attention better (Bitgood, Patterson, & Benefield, 1988). In
addition, artists often play with size to influence viewers in a
certain manners (relating to stages from preclassification, to later
explicit classification, and meaning making). Small paintings may
draw viewers in, asking them to approach the work as an intimate,
personal meeting. Large, monumental works may impart a grandeur that can overwhelm viewers. Works that are larger than the
human body, or are beyond the periphery of vision, can also
envelop a viewer, thus eliciting a powerful experience (e.g., see
Rothko in Barnes, 1989, p. 25). Large pictures can also evoke
importance or communicate a higher meaning (Pelowski, Akiba, &
Palacios, 2012), while size can also clash with content (e.g., Ron
Mueck’s enlarged portraits, see Pelli, 1999). These aspects may
often be lost in laboratory studies.
Size may also play a role in basic perception. Locher, Krupinski,
Mello-Thoms, and Nodine (2008), suggested that exploration of a
painting starts with a rapid survey of the pictorial field to acquire
an initial impression of structural arrangements and meaning. This
then drives a second phase consisting of scrutiny of interesting
features to develop aesthetic judgment. In both phases, individuals
pay little attention to outer regions, concentrating gaze on the
central 25% of the image. It is an interesting question as to whether
such response is related to size and viewpoint. It may be that
smaller screen-based images would be more easily seen using
peripheral vision, leading to differences in focus or overall impression.
Summary for Features of the Artwork
Factors inherent in the artwork are related to multiple stages of
viewing and response, which differ between art seen in the museum and the laboratory. According to Figure 1, viewers may be
influenced during their classification of an object as being art, or
during the initial stages (e.g., perceptual analysis) of processing an
artwork in terms of its size and textural characteristics brought
about by the marks of the artist. More conceptual aspects of the
work such as its “artness” and historical importance may inform
later top-down processing related to explicit classification,
meaning-making, and judgments of artistic significance. These are
factors that should be considered in future research, especially
those conducted in museums.
252
PELOWSKI, FORSTER, TINIO, SCHOLL, AND LEDER
Characteristics of the Viewer
The characteristics of the viewer may be as influential to the art
experience as features of the artwork. Here as well, the difference
between the museum visitor and the laboratory participant may be
as dramatic as the difference between the genuine artwork and its
reproduction.
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Basic Characteristics of Art Viewers in Museums
First, the basic demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of a viewer may influence reception—modulating stages
from preclassification through to the final cognitive mastery
and emotional/evaluative response. As noted by Hanquinet
(2013, p. 791; see also Tinio et al., 2014 for recent review), for
over 40 years (beginning from DiMaggio & Useem’s 1975 U.S.
study, DiMaggio & Useem, 1978), art museum visitors have fit
a general profile: white-collar professionals from middle to
upper social classes, with generally high levels of education and
income, and more often female. Similar findings have been
obtained in European and North American countries (see DiMaggio, 1996; Schuster, 1991). Of these characteristics, the best
predictor of museum attendance is education. DiMaggio and
Useem (1978) found that of those who reported to have visited
an art museum during the previous 12 months, over 75% were
college educated. Furthermore, participation rose with income
(see also Chang, 2006).
The above profile is different from that of a typical laboratory
participant: undergraduate students, who are younger and possess
less wealth. They also have less art-related knowledge and experiences and may be less comfortable visiting museums. Difference
in age may also be a critical factor, as studies of general differences between college students and older general populations have
noted that the students may be less likely to have set opinions, have
less determined sense of self, and have stronger cognitive skills
mixed with more willingness to comply with authority (Peterson,
2001; Sears, 1986). All of these issues might make viewers less
likely to engage fully with art, to find it interesting, or to continue
to engage with a work that is challenging. They could also lead to
more stereotypical assessments, liking of more classic styles,
higher susceptibility to priming (e.g., Kirk, Harvey, & Montague,
2011), and dislike of nontypical works. In contrast, DiMaggio
found that art museum visitors are more likely to “hold less
negative views of modern painting.” Mastandrea et al. (2009) also
showed correlations between age and liking for abstract or contemporary art as well as between education and liking of abstract
art.
As they are relatively middle-class, educated, and young, it is
also possible that students may be more likely to have “omnivorous” interests (Hanquinet, 2013), including both low and high
brow culture, and thus differ in their appreciation of cultural genres
from museum visitors who have more focused tastes. Tröndle,
Kirchberg, and Tschacher (2014) considered reactions to traditional artworks (paintings, drawings, sculptures) as well as conceptual installations, and found that agreement with the installations being considered art correlated with age and frequency of
museum visits.
Art Expertise
Museum visitors also often possess more art-related expertise
and experience than typical laboratory participants (Augustin &
Leder, 2006; Leder, Gerger, Brieber, & Schwarz, 2014, for reviews). Art experts, more than art-naïve viewers, emphasize formal, stylistic, and relational properties of artworks more than
content, craftsmanship, or level of realism (Hekkert & Van Wieringen, 1996). Art naïve viewers may take an approach to viewing
that is a mere extension of everyday perception (Cupchik &
Gebotys, 1988), and thus are less likely to use an aesthetic, or
detached pleasure-seeking mode. This may limit positive and
increase negative emotions. On the other hand, Leder et al. (2014)
showed, in a laboratory study, that experts have fewer negative
emotional reactions toward negative or challenging artworks and
rate such works more positively. Experts also rated the emotional
qualities of artworks in a more neutral way.
Art-naïve viewers may also have different attitudes about what
art should do, holding a belief that art should please, evoke
peaceful feelings, positive memories, and appeal to many people
(Winston & Cupchik, 1992). More experienced art viewers may
believe that art should be intellectually challenging, express an
artist’s feelings, and hold layers of meaning (Cupchik, 1995).
These aspects may be key in appraisals of liking or quality. Experts
are also more likely to perceive artworks “for their own sake”
(Hekkert & Van Wieringen, 1996), considering each as a unique
example, rather than, for example, rating an entire art type uniformly, and are less swayed by context or priming (Kirk et al.,
2011). Becker (1982, p. 48) has noted that experts may use “the
history of attempts” to make similar works in that medium, genre
[or] characteristic features of different styles and periods.” Differences in art viewing as a function of expertise can even manifest
in low-level visual processing. For example, experts tend to look
more at a painting’s periphery, evaluate the entirety of the canvas,
and use a global or visual “gist” perspective, whereas art naïve
viewers focus more on the center of a work (Pihko et al., 2011).
Of course, some of the above factors can be controlled for in
empirical studies. However, a key point may be that entire populations of viewers possess a baseline of expectations that differ
between groups. As noted by Carroll (1986), it is quite curious that
the casual noninterested viewer is often our source for characterizing the art experience.
Motivations and Expectations
A good deal of sociology and general museum studies research
has also explored visitors’ motivations for going to museums as
well as their viewing expectations (Falk, 2009; Tinio et al., 2014).
Although these factors connect to the various stages of the model,
they are particularly relevant to preclassification. The very decision to visit a museum and to see art sets the basis for the entire
experience. A survey by Hendon, Costa, and Rosenberg (1989,
performed in 1981) for example, found that 45% of visitors to a
museum had plans to see specific artworks. Hendon et al. (1989)
showed that galleries that contained art that participants were most
interested in before a visit were rated as most interesting at the end
of their museum visit.
Museum visitors also have general expectations about their art
visit. Hendon et al. (1989, p. 237), reviewed surveys from the
mid-1970s to 1980s and suggested that about 40% of museum
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FACTORS INFLUENCING ‘REAL’ AND MUSEUM-BASED ART
visitors come for “general interest and curiosity,” 15–20% visit to
accompany children, and 15% visit to see specific exhibits. JansenVerbeke and van Rekom (1996) found that 25% of visitors had the
goal of “learning something,” followed by “enriching life”
(#10%) and “relaxation” (#6%). Chang (2006, p. 173) suggested
that frequent visitors “value learning,” want to “undertake new
experiences,” and place a high value on doing something worthwhile with leisure time. Furthermore, Falk (2009) identified five
motivations: intention to explore, have new experiences, recharge/
rejuvenate, facilitate art experience for friends or children, and see
specific artworks or exhibits.
Viewers may also differ with regard to what constitutes a generally
“successful” or satisfying experience. Roberts (1997) found that visitors expected to experience reminiscence, fantasy, personal involvement, restoration, and intellectual curiosity. Kotler and Kotler (2000;
also Falk & Dierking, 1992; Kotler, 1999) noted six types of expectations for their museum visit: recreation, social interaction, learning,
aesthetic experience, celebration, and enchantment. In another study
that looked at museum visitors’ expectations, Pitman-Gelles and
Hirzy (2010) surveyed 1,500 visitors to the Dallas Museum of Fine
Art and found four “clusters” that were based on expectations: participants, who sought emotional or social art engagement; independents, who sought self-paced, introspective engagement; enthusiasts,
who were interested in art history and technique; and observers, who
were not especially engaged and just visiting for tourism or family
reasons. Pekarik and Schreiber (2012, see also Pekarik, Doering, &
Karns, 1999) identified similar categories of visitors who expected to:
learn new information; find an emotional connection; find beauty;
reflect on art’s meaning; feel specific reactions such as awe, wonder,
calm, or curiosity; imagine other events or locations through art; and
have interactions with rare, real objects.
The above expectations may provide viewers with a particular
cognitive frame of reference through which information is processed. Individuals who expect learning or exploration may be
more likely to deeply engage, cognitively process, and seek out
and respond positively to challenge or confusion. Those seeking
pleasure may be more likely to use an aesthetic mode, respond
positively to positively valenced art, or consider only style and
visual aspects. The level of enjoyment or art appraisal that individuals report may also directly tie to whether or not their specific
expectations are met (e.g., see Falk, 2009; Tinio et al., 2014).
These factors can, of course, differ between art museum viewers
and should be considered when designing empirical studies. It is
also instructive to compare these motivations against a laboratory
visitor. As noted by Hilton and Darley (1985, p. 13) in a discussion
of general psychological testing in a laboratory, “from [an] interaction goals perspective, consider the . . . task we impose on the
interactants. . . . Psychologists create situations in which people
interact briefly, without set goals,” with some previously unexpected and unsought stimulus, and with which “they may expect
no further interaction.” They argue that “given this interaction
context, the major interaction goal is likely to simply be to get
through the experience smoothly without any negative consequences.” Hekkert (2012, p. 9) makes a related argument, suggesting that participants who are primed to think of hopes or goals, as
opposed to those who begin a task by first thinking of obligation,
should favor novelty or variety in art.
Returning to the above discussion regarding “real” art, Pekarik
and Schreiber (2012), across a 7-year study of 18 museum sites,
253
showed that the most oft-noted expectation was finding rare, real,
in-person experiences. Mastandrea et al. (2007, 2009) similarly
noted visitors’ desire to see genuine artworks in addition to other
motivations.
Social “Distinction” and Museum
Expectations/Attendance
Although again largely outside this review, the above discussion
also touches sociological aspects. In his classic papers, Bourdieu
(1968, 1979; Bourdieu & Darbel, 1969; see also Chang, 2006;
McCracken, 2003, for reviews) notes that choice to interact with
art can mark a means of social demarcation, enabling vicarious
interaction with those who also value art. This also ties to the
above discussions of who typically goes to a museum (more
educated, higher income viewers), which represents a class many
wish to join. Hendon et al. (1989, p. 240), reporting results of a
review of several museum visitor surveys, noted that “a large
proportion of people appeared to value status differences,” over
half felt that art should improve morals and 44% thought people
who liked art were “better than people who did not” (see also
Hanquinet, 2013). Implications can also be found in those who
claim that they do not visiting museums. Surveys suggest that
those who do not attend, or who even visit infrequently (Chang,
2006), feel that galleries can be overly formal, formidable, or
inaccessible places, leading to discomfort and intimidation. Leong
(2003), for example, also found that nonvisitors perceived museums not for themselves, but for other classes, who were presumed
to be more knowledgeable. If individuals do not feel that they meet
the criteria of a typical visitor, they may enter with expectations
that create more negative mood, may devote more resources to
social processing, and may have more anxiety/negative experience.
Group Size and Between-Visitor/Museum Differences
Finally, if designing museum studies, researchers should also
consider particular circumstances that may influence makeup of
visitors. For example, summer may have a larger number of
tourists, and art-naïve visitors, as might weekends or blockbuster
exhibits (Pekarik et al., 1999). Higgs, Polonsky, and Hollick
(2005) suggested that first-timers have slightly lower expectations
in general, which may cause more facile interactions. Differences
may also be found between types of museums (Mastandrea et al.,
2007; Pekarik et al., 1999; J. K. Smith & Carr, 2001). Chosen
participants from among museum attendees may also share certain
personalities—such as openness to experience, sensation seeking,
or need for cognition—which may lead to seeking certain results
(e.g., Cacioppo & Petty, 1982; DiMaggio, 1996, p. 166; see further
discussions in Supplemental Table S2).
A last critical factor concerns whether participants are alone or
in groups. Adults in groups larger than two, as well as adults
accompanying children, have been shown to approach their visit as
primarily social or educational, with emphasis on conversing with
their partners. Chang (2006) suggested that this could lead to
groups paying less attention to exhibits, reading less information,
and spending less time with individual works (see Tröndle, Kirchberg, et al., 2014 for similar findings in an art museum). Adults
with children also focus primarily on the child rather than the art.
PELOWSKI, FORSTER, TINIO, SCHOLL, AND LEDER
254
Individual visitors, on the other hand, are more likely to approach
art with expectations of introspection. They may look at art longer
and more intently/introspectively (Chang, 2006; McManus, 1996).
McManus (1996) further found that adult couples show the same
behavior as do individual adults, employing the same personal
introspective approach. Thus, if a researcher wants to assess introspective experience (i.e., as might fit a lab comparison), we
recommend two adults as a key cut-off. Of course, other group
types and sizes are natural variables unique to museums, and also
require examination in future research.
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Summary for Viewer Context
The above factors concerning viewers involve expectations that
they bring with them into their interactions with art. The factors
have effects that could run through all stages of the model, but
notably, during the implicit memory integration stage, in which
memory and past experiences become important, and could led to
both a sense of familiarity regarding artworks as well as preference
judgments and emotional reactions. The stage of explicit classification is also particularly relevant as it involves deliberate classification of artworks based on style or content. Based on the review
of the above factors, the differences between museum visitors and
laboratory participants are noteworthy. However, researchers must
be mindful of the limitations of assessing art viewing only among
individuals who purposely choose to visit a museum. Although
these viewers may present many qualities important for more
in-depth study of the art experience, the people who walk through
museum doors are self-selected as much as laboratory participants.
The Museum and Presentation Context
The interaction between viewer and artwork is also mediated by
factors inherent in the presentation context. These include (a) the
specific ways in which artworks are presented, (b) aspects of the
physical space of the museum that may influence expectations or
ways of viewing (see Supplemental Table S3), and (c) the behav-
Figure 2.
iors of the art viewer and other key factors such as the amount of
time that people have to view art (see Supplemental Table S4 and
Figure 2).
Display/Hanging
Concerning presentation, one of the most obvious factors is the
manner in which artworks are displayed. Paintings may be leaned
against a wall, hung alone or in groups. Sculptures could be placed
in a corner or set in the middle of a room. The approach taken may
depend on trends, resources, or particular concepts associated with
an exhibition or museum.
Museum studies suggest that the simple act of placing an object
on a higher plane, as compared to other objects, could increase the
object’s importance and the attention that it receives (Bitgood,
1992). This effect could also be achieved by placing a particular
work among smaller ones, by emphasizing a work’s distinctive
color or texture, and by using spotlighting. Nodelman (1997)
suggested that paintings can be hung to create rhythms (e.g.,
big-small-big; vertical-horizontal) that could prime expectations
for the next work or instill a sense of interconnected meaning
among the works. Pelowski et al. (2012) suggested that paintings
hung particularly high on a wall or with an upright, human-like
orientation can be felt to “watch” viewers in a gallery, potentially
cueing self-awareness, awareness of one’s body, and/or selfreflection.
Frame
The physical frame acts as another visual element that influences the way an artwork is viewed. Frames are ubiquitous in most
art settings. As noted by Ensor and Hamilton (2014, p. 121; see
also Curry, 2000), frames provide a border and structural support
to a flat visual art object, while simultaneously “tell[ing] the eye”
where to look and potentially “completing” a painting or drawing.
Despite the prevalence of the use of frames, there have been few
empirical studies examining their influence on the art experience.
Factors to consider in gallery viewing and movement.
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FACTORS INFLUENCING ‘REAL’ AND MUSEUM-BASED ART
Koutstaal (1998), working in the laboratory, asked participants to
view a succession of framed pictures, with the frames varying in
color and pattern. This was accompanied by a task in which
participants were either given a question focused on both frame
and picture or on picture alone. Results showed that without a task
directing participants’ attention to the frames, most participants
could not recall the specific frames of pictures. However, when the
task did direct participants’ attention to frames, participants were
better able to recall the frames, but recall for the pictures was
reduced. This latter finding suggests that frames may compete with
pictures for cognitive or attentional resources (note however, the
task of explicitly thinking of a frame and its picture may also not
be typical art viewing behavior itself).
Boundaries
Boundaries, such as cases, ropes, and even pedestals, also frame
and influence interaction. In considering these elements, Bitgood
(1992, p. 8) suggested that focus should be placed on the way that
boundaries create both a space for the visitor and for the exhibit.
These spaces may prescribe certain ways of interacting with art
and could emphasize specific elements within artworks. Pedestals
or barriers might increase the feeling of distance by placing the
work “in a space of its own” that is not shared by the viewer
(Cupchik, 2006, p. 218), and could thus lead to an aesthetically
detached mode of viewing and encourage the processing of formal
properties of artworks. On a similar note, Griswold, Mangione,
and McDonnell (2013, p. 352) suggested that although barriers
may “prescribe (or forbid)” certain interactions, their absence—
especially when barriers are typically present—may also “cue” a
viewer-centered approach that promotes “freedom of movement
and engagement” (see also Akrich & Latour, 1992). This potentially makes art seem more lighthearted or entertaining.
Artworks that are in some way set apart, via a barrier, may
also be deemed more respected and important (e.g., think of the
classic example of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre; see also
Belting, 1994). Alexander, Ishikawa, and Silverstein (1977, p.
550) reported that even subtle framing/boundary elements in a
gallery could modulate depth of engagement. In an observation
study of several museums, they found that many exhibits failed
to “hold” people resulting in short viewing durations. However,
in an exhibit with a strip of brightly colored carpet running
parallel to a wall with displayed artworks, which created a
visual barrier that one had to cross to engage the objects,
viewers spent a longer time interacting with the exhibit. These
aspects of the presentational context have largely been neglected by empirical psychological research.
Lighting
Lighting is another factor differentiating the laboratory and
museum. Griswold et al. (2013, p. 359) noted that lighting may
“act on people” by affecting physical positioning and influencing
“how they locate and . . . comprehend.” Lighting direction may
draw attraction to certain works in a gallery, and the type of light
used (e.g., warm or cool and spot or uniform lighting) may change
the experience of sculptures and paintings. Many galleries, especially those displaying paintings and sculptures, use natural lighting that highlight brushstrokes or colors that are features of certain
255
techniques such as impasto, or certain styles such as impressionism
(see Model Stage 4). Lighting is able to reveal depth in paintings
with multiple layers or glazing, or can show a finely cracked
surface that changes as one shifts the angle of viewing. These
features are almost impossible to perceive in reproductions of
artworks.
Labels and Art-Related Information
Artworks in museums are also often accompanied by supporting
“extra-exhibit media” (Bitgood, 1992), including labels, texts or
catalogs, maps, and audio guides. Contextual information has been
a focus of empirical study, especially in the laboratory. Providing
titles has been shown to increase ratings of meaningfulness and to
decrease the perceived abstractness of works (Russell & Milne,
1997). Titles can also boost a work’s hedonic value (Gerger &
Leder, 2015; Russell, 2003), perhaps through increasing fluency or
understanding (related to explicit classification and cognitive mastering stages). Title information may also increase an artwork’s
importance, cognitively challenge the visitor, and encourage/influence meaning making (Cupchik, Shereck, & Spiegel, 1994). On
the other hand, laboratory study (L. F. Smith, Bousquet, Chang, &
Smith, 2006) has also found that labels may not always affect
ratings (via 24 adjectival pairs) of art.
Turning to the museum, there is also a growing body of research, and outstanding questions, concerning the use of labels.
Regarding what might occur when a label is added to a display,
Bitgood and Patterson (1993, p. 762) noted that “two alternative
and seemingly incompatible visitor reactions have been postulated.” On the one hand, the need to read a label may “distract
attention or compete with other components,” or may disrupt
aesthetic or spontaneous reactions by shifting focus on didactic
information (see also Funch, Kroyer, Roald, & Wildt, 2012). On
the other hand, labels may direct attention and stimulate interest.
Peart (1984; see Bitgood & Patterson, 1993 for a review) demonstrated that an object with a label generally produces a higher
percentage of visitors stopping to see a work and longer viewing
times. Pekarik (2004, p. 12) thus noted that an important question
for museum studies is “when does an interpretation [enhance or]
diminish the fundamental nature of . . . experience and place limits
on independent judgment?” (see also Supplemental Table S3 for
further examples). This difference has only begun to be considered
with museum art. It should be noted that information about an
artwork in laboratory studies is based on testing specific hypotheses and is controlled by the research. In the museum, such
information—if present—is almost always accessible to the
viewer, who can then decide whether to either engage with it or
not. This type of decision-making should be considered when
making comparisons between laboratory and museum research.
Physical Aspects of the Museum
Specific elements of the museum environment also have a
bearing on how art experiences will play out. Of the above factors
related to presentational contexts, the art viewing space may be the
most salient factor differentiating museum and laboratory research
in aesthetics. Architectural elements such as the presence of hallways and room layout influence the way in which artworks are
approached. Staircases or doors may create certain viewpoints, and
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256
PELOWSKI, FORSTER, TINIO, SCHOLL, AND LEDER
thus direct initial attention to and awareness of specific artworks or
artwork elements (related to the preclassification stage). Griswold
et al. (2013) noted that the size of spaces may change visitors’
moods and evaluations. Large halls could imbue art with greater
importance, or encourage a sense of the sublime. Intimate spaces
or low ceilings could emphasize more personal evaluations, or
benefit small-sized art. In a recent empirical study, Vartanian et al.
(2013) showed that rooms with curved walls, as opposed to rectilinear walls, led to higher judgments of beauty and pleasantness,
as well as activations of the anterior cingulate cortex—tied to
reward—and higher activations of the visual cortex.
These factors could also influence the assessment of art, as
could general levels of room opulence or austerity—for example,
consider the contrast in ambience between a former palace-turnedmuseum versus the modern “white cube” museum (O’Doherty,
1986). Gartus and Leder (2014) argued that the white cube may
minimize outside influences, leading to a more thoughtful environment. On the other hand, austere modern art presentation has
been noted by artists/critics to potentially lead to dull, cold
(Hickey, 1993), antiseptic (Kaprow, 1961) feelings as well.
The direct interaction between architecture and art needs to be
further explored empirically. To our knowledge, the only systematic study of such interaction was that conducted by Gartus and
Leder (2014). They used a computer program to embed modern
artworks and graffiti art in street (concrete background) and museum (white wall) settings. They found no significant impact of
context on liking and interest; however, this may be because the art
was on a computer and not in a physical setting. Brieber et al.
(2015), attempted to reproduce a museum through digital means,
contrasting against an actual museum visit. They found that participants who first visited museums recalled more artworks from
their visit. They suggested that participants may have been successfully using spatial cues to retrieve the artworks from memory,
which was absent in the laboratory. Weather and odors have also
been shown to influence mood (Gendolla, 2000, regarding general
museum studies) as well as sounds or views from windows and
hallways (Bitgood, 1992; Bitgood et al., 1988).
Cultural Factors Related to the Museum Space
The museum setting itself carries culturally relevant factors that
could influence experience. Visiting a museum is often considered
a special activity. Bourdieu (1968, p. 26) noted that everything in
museum design— classic or monumental architecture, materials—
combine to indicate that the world of art is “sacred” or contrary to
the world of everyday life. He stated that “the mere fact that works
are consecrated by being exhibited” is sufficient to “change their
signification” and to “raise the level of their emission.” This may
have to do with a sense of access or exclusion, with the museum
emphasizing the latter. Sacredness may especially play a role with
works that are more conceptual, disturbing, or challenging to
interpret. The museum context may help to neutralize otherwise
troubling objects or to create a safe zone for viewing (e.g., Goffman, 1967).
Many museums are situated in central, prized locations and are
themselves cultural attractions. Barthes (1983, p. 30) noted that for
most Western cities, the center where many museums are located
is “a marked site,” where “the values of civilization are gathered.”
To go to the city-center is “to participate in the proud plenitude of
‘reality’” and perhaps encourages us to look for certain qualities
(e.g., deeper meaning, challenge), or take art more seriously and
give it importance.
Museums may also induce a detached, aesthetic mode through
their ability to “annex” objects, separating them from the ordinary
and “aestheticizing” them (Dufrenne, 1973, p. 153). Jacobsen
(2006, p. 161) noted that “being in a museum” facilitates processing, because it primes use of certain schema allowing us to more
easily attend to certain aspects important for viewing/understanding art. On the other hand, this may also reduce cognitive or
intellectual engagement. Fenner (2003) suggested that the detached museum mode may create passive receivers, and dissuade
active discovery or sense of challenge (see also Cross & Ticini,
2012). Museum culture may also be important when artists directly
play with the sense of aesthetic distance, causing tension with
expectations. This is perhaps especially important for conceptual
or readymade artists, whose works may be art only because they
are in a museum (Crowther, 1993).
As also noted above, the museum—via its cultural place— could
also blunt impact, or render art less potent. Blanchot (1997, pp.
15–16) suggested a tendency for works to become seen as “museum art.” He called museums “artificial places,” in which “the
world [is] constrained, solitary, dead”. Hickey (1993, p. 54) suggested, especially with controversial works, museums can “validate . . . and detoxify” objects, “neutraliz[ing] their power” by
making them “exhibits” or aesthetic objects (see also Dezeuze,
2005; Nerdrum, 2001).
Museum Viewing Experience and Movement in
Galleries
How museum space is designed and artworks are presented have
a bearing on how visitors move about the gallery spaces. From
general museum studies, a general pattern of movement has
emerged (see also Griswold et al., 2013): Upon entering a gallery,
visitors often pause and survey the room, determining which
objects should be engaged with and identifying a desired path to
follow (Pelowski, Liu, Palacios, & Akiba, 2014). Visitors observe
other viewers, obstacles, and displayed information. They then
move from work-to-work, giving brief glances, until one particular
work is focused on. Subsequently, a gist impression of the work is
derived (Locher, 1996; Locher et al., 2008). They then either move
on to another work, or stay and give the current one additional
attention (J. K. Smith & Smith, 2001). Visitors also tend to move
to the right upon entering a gallery and may give more attention to
works on the right side of a room (Bitgood, 2006). There is a
tendency to follow the wall around a room and to leave at the first
doorway (Bitgood & Dukes, 2006; Melton, 1972). Visitors typically do not backtrack to see works missed on the first go-through
(Bitgood, 2006; Klein, 1993).
Such patterns could influence art assessment. Regarding rightward movement—whether a natural propensity or a statistical
artifact from culture/design of museums (see Bitgood & Dukes,
2006; M. Parsons & Loomis, 1973)— hung artworks may often be
approached from the right edge. Freestanding sculptures may be
circumnavigated looking over the left shoulder. In turn, for example, Wilson and Chatterjee (2005, p. 165) noted that images with
salient objects located on the right are preferred in general. These
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FACTORS INFLUENCING ‘REAL’ AND MUSEUM-BASED ART
features would be met first when walking. An interesting question
would be if changing direction of approaching changes evaluation.
The act of physically moving toward an artwork may also play
an important role in the way it is experienced. Works that are given
priority placement in museums are often approached from a distance. As one example, Winged Victory of Samothrace in the
Louvre, gradually reveals itself as one ascends the main stairway.
Museums also often place major paintings at the back of galleries
to draw individuals toward them, thus imbuing the works with
importance. Novitz (2001, p. 153) noted that a slow revealing can
afford deference or “internal” or “participatory” perspective (see
also Wolterstorff, 2003, p. 26, describing the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C.; Funch, 2007, p. 3 for an example with
painting). Advancing toward an artwork could highlight certain
features and reinforce a progression of attention from large gestalt
aspects to more detailed looking, as in paintings by Chuck Close.
Thus, when considering the art experience in the museum and the
laboratory, it is important to consider how artworks are approached
or first seen by visitors.
Cost-Minimization, Museum Fatigue, and Satiation
There are also more general aspects of museum engagement that
may be specific to museums and are indirectly related to the
presentational context. Research suggests that museum behavior
involves a cost-minimizing approach (Bitgood & Patterson, 1993;
Turner & Penn, 2002), where viewers spend the minimum amount
of energy required to view art. Museum studies have also identified museum fatigue (for overviews, see Bitgood, 2009; Davey,
2005; Melton, 1972), which refers to a decrease in effort and
interest (measured via viewing time) as visitors see more works.
Past a certain threshold, visitors may also cease viewing additional
works, unless they are very compelling (Bitgood, 2006; Davey,
2005). These findings are attributed to a combination of factors
including limits on cognitive processing, exhaustion, stress, information overload, and object competition (Bitgood, 2009). A related concept is “satiation” (Bitgood, 2006, 2009), which involves
decreased attention not as a function of tiredness, but of repeated
exposure to homogenous stimulation (e.g., a series of similar
artworks).
The above concepts all await rigorous empirical testing. To date,
we could find only one reported study. Robinson (1928; see
Bitgood, 2009) asked participants to look at 100 art prints for as
long as they wished. Results showed a progressive decrease in
attention. This was more pronounced in the laboratory as compared to the museum. Museum fatigue and satiation could be
argued to lead participants to select and look at artworks that they
expect to be deeply engaging, and to bypass others. In the laboratory, the viewer is a passive receiver with little or no control over
what they look at. Therefore, they might be less engaged than if
they were looking at similar works in a museum.
The Body During Viewing
Standing or walking, as opposed to sitting, may itself mark a key
difference between the art experience in the museum and laboratory. Human cognition is inextricably linked to motor behavior
(Gramann, Gwin, Bigdely-Shamlo, Ferris, & Makeig, 2010). This
ties to ideas of “natural vision” (Gibson, 1986; see Turner & Penn,
257
2002 for a review), which considers vision as involving the entire
perceptual system. As noted by Gibson (1986, p. 205), one “sees
the environment . . . with the eyes-in-the-head-on-the-bodyresting-on-the-ground.” Unlike the fixed perception of a seated
viewer, “when [fewer] constraints are put on the visual system,”
we “move around” an object “so as to see it from all sides, and go
from one vista to another” (Gibson in Turner & Penn, 2002, p.
474). This aligns with Berlyne’s (1971) approach to art-viewing,
which suggests three types of exploration: orienting (which might
come through initial viewing and gist impressions), manual, and
locomotor responses. He defined the latter as “movements towards
sources of stimulation or towards vantage points” from which art
can be efficiently inspected (p. 993). He also tied this to potential
outcomes in hedonic assessment and understanding. Griswold et
al. (2013, p. 355) suggested that the viewer glances at the work,
approaches to read a label, and then steps back to view for a longer
time. The specific movement pattern may influence the degree of
intimacy felt by the viewer or guide attention, and thus influence
the appraisal of work or meaning derived from art.
Bodily sensations are other contributing factors to the art experience. Cupchik (2006, p. 209; see also Tröndle & Tschacher,
2012) noted that purposive mental activity always includes “generalized bodily arousal,” which focuses attention and facilitates
evaluation of objects. Kapoula, Lang, and Locher (2014) have
begun to explore this area. Using a belted accelerometer, they
showed that visual exploration in free viewing paradigms, as
opposed to fixed viewing, induced larger antero-posterior sway
speed and displacement, which may also tie to or enhance macroeye movements. Kapoula, Adenis, Lê, Yang, and Lipede (2011)
also showed that pictorial depth effects postural sway and stability
when individuals stand before paintings, and these effects are
modulated by local depth information (i.e., individuals lean into
paintings with deeper pictorial fields). In a museum study involving Mark Rothko paintings, Pelowski et al. (2014) showed that the
body can play an important role in inducing more self-reflective
responses. They report that, especially when facing particularly
engrossing or challenging art, contextual sensations (e.g., hearing
one’s own footsteps, sensing wind from the air conditioning system) may shift attention to the body and one’s current actions. This
awareness, which they place at the cognitive mastering stage of the
art experience, may induce metacognitive reflection in which
individuals reconsider assumptions. Such physical “triggers” are
important topics for future research.
Viewing Distance
The distance between viewer and artwork is another critical
factor. An early study of viewing distance was originally conducted by Maertens (1884; see Clarke et al., 1984 for a review),
who reported that a painting could be viewed completely from a
distance of twice the longest dimension of a work. More recent
literature, however, such as by Clarke et al. (1984), suggests a less
linear relation between viewing distance and the sizes of artworks.
They also found that varying instructions to participants regarding
choice of viewing distance between what “looks best” and is “most
comfortable” did not influence selected distance. Instead, participants looked longer when standing closer. Choice of distance, and
relation to both liking and interest, also showed high interpersonal
differences (specific differences not reported). Viewers sometimes
258
PELOWSKI, FORSTER, TINIO, SCHOLL, AND LEDER
choose perspectives to limit or change their viewing experience.
For example, they may stand quite far away in order to better
appraise form or may stand very close to a work to achieve a sense
of being enveloped (O’Doherty in Elderfiled, 2005, p. 102). On the
other hand, Papathomas (2002) investigated paintings in which
perspectival elements were salient and showed that individuals
increase enjoyment by increasing viewing distance.
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Time
Finally, time may delineate between art experienced in the
laboratory and museum. Museum studies suggest that individuals
do not look at art for very long. Smith and Smith’s (2001; Smith,
2014, p. 35, for a replication in a European setting) classic study
of visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art found that visitors
spent an average of 27.2 viewing paintings that were considered
masterpieces of the collection. A follow-up study by L. F. Smith,
Smith, and Tinio (2016) at The Art Institute of Chicago found a
duration of 28.6 s. Other studies have shown similarly short
durations. Tröndle and Tschacher (2012) found a median duration
of 11 s (ranging between 3 s to 13 min) and Brieber et al. (2014)
found approximately 39 s. Even such short durations allow for
initial and intermediate stages of processing as people are able to
rapidly detect and categorize the style characteristics (abstract/
representational), composition, pleasantness, and interestingness
of an artwork with a single rapid, 100-ms glance (Locher et al.,
2010). Neuroimaging studies also suggest that 3 to 4 s marks a
major threshold for basic emotional responses (Geday, Kupers, &
Gjedde, 2007), whereas studies by J. K. Smith and Smith (2001) in
museums showed that initial assessments—an action they called
“sampling”—took roughly 10 s.
It is reasonable to assume that most laboratory presentations,
which often do not exceed 5s (Brieber et al., 2014), may not allow
for more detailed or in-depth processing. Laboratory studies have
shown that artificially limiting viewing time to less than 6 seconds
could lead to relatively unstable assessments (Bachmann & Vipper, 1983; however see L. F. Smith et al., 2006). This may be due
to artificial limits on the normal processes associated with viewing
and appraisal.
More profound experiences of art seem to require longer periods
of engagement. Leder and Nadal (2014, p. 449) argued that a key
component of “aesthetic” experience may be their “its long extension in time, which allows for several cycles of feedback and
feed-forward . . . processes related to perception, cognition, and
emotion.” J. K. Smith and Smith (2001) noted this in their observation of viewers who spent over one minute viewing art, who the
authors considered to be “savoring” a work. For art-induced insight or personal/interpretive transformations, Pelowski and Akiba
(2011, p. 95) suggest even longer durations. Follow up study in
three galleries (Pelowski, 2015), found means of 7.5 to 20 min—
roughly two times longer than other viewers.
Summary for Museum Context
Factors related to the presentational context may mark the most
overlooked and potentially most fruitful area for future research on
the psychology of art. One can argue that the physical space of the
museum creates the optimal context for experiencing art, a context
that promotes deep engagement with art and with the potential to
experience art in a self-referential and personally transformative
manner.
Conclusion
To conclude, we hope that the above examination has identified
the key factors that can influence the art experience, with many of
the factors being inherent in museum-based art. Although it is
undeniable that laboratory research is extremely valuable in uncovering the processes associated with our interactions with art, we
must further extend such work into the museum. In this article, we
aimed to highlight and place a framework— using of a model of
aesthetic experiences—around the above factors and examine
them within the context of psychology of art study, and which we
hope will provide a useful resource for constructing future research.
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Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Supplemental Materials
Beyond the Lab: An Examination of Key Factors Influencing Interaction With 'Real' and MuseumBased Art
by M. Pelowski et al., 2017, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aca0000141
Supplementary Materials (Integral): Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Tables of Context Factors and Past studies
Table S1
Artwork context: Key aspects and previous studies regarding original/museum vs. laboratory art
Factor
Hypothesized impact and connection to processing stage (bold)
Notable findings
Texture
• Perceptual Analysis (2): Informs early visual assessments,
increase awareness of complexity, symmetry, balance
• Directs attention. High texture = more interest, attention, visual
appeal (Locher, Overbeeke, & Wensveen, 2010)
• Delivers surprise or novelty via tension between texture/vision
(Hekkert, 2012; Norman, 2004).
• Recognition of edges/contrasts may increase early fluency
• Visual-haptic systems may integrate in initial “visceral”
processing level. Key in hedonic judgments (Overbeeke & Forlizzi,
2006).
• Explicit classification (4): Important for works with compelling
surfaces (impasto, glazing) and in relation to certain techniques
(sprezzatura) - identification of artist's unique approaches, style or
artwork quality
• three-dimensional objects generate
more attention than 2D images
(Bitgood, 1992; Peart, 1984).
Size
• Perceptual analysis (2): Viewers pay little attention to outer
edges of full-size paintings, focus on middle (Locher, Krupinski,
Mello-Thoms, & Nodine, 2007).
• Pre-classification (1), Explicit classification (4): Key tool of
artist to determine intimacy/impact/envelopment of viewer.
• Smaller reproductions may lead to differences in impression
formation.
• Larger objects attract and hold visitor
attention better (Bitgood, 1992;
Bitgood, Patterson, & Benefield, 1988).
• real paintings vs. smaller screen
images: small images visually
denser/complex (Locher et al., 1999).
Awareness
• Pre-classification (1), Explicit classification (4): Knowledge
that art represents act of making key for assessed originality,
creativity, skill. (Crowther, 1993; Newman & Bloom, 2012).
• Art presence as end-result of a performance (Dutton, 2003, 2009)
or “contagion”—having been touched/shaped by artist (Newman &
Bloom, 2012)—may increase pleasure, hedonic value.
• Believing painting took longer =
aesthetically superior, worth more
money (Kruger, Wirtz, Van Boven, &
Altermatt, 2004).
• Significant difference in assessed
value between originals/copies, and
high/low making effort. Low-effort
of making
1
Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
• Viewers may approach art as dialogue between material and artist.
May evaluate in context of history or artist intention.
• Experts focus on originality, or appreciate looser handling of
media, potentially explaining commonly found higher appreciation
of abstract art (Leder & Nadal, 2014). May also notice and consider
more technical aspects of making (thinness of a glaze, tautness of
canvas), suggesting difference between groups higher with real art.
• Perceptual Analysis (2): Artist's gestures may activate simulation
of motor system or motor neurons in viewer (Calvo-Merino,
Grèzes, Glaser, Passingham, & Haggard, 2006; Freedberg &
Gallese, 2007). Especially strong with abstract painting/sculpture
• Non-experts may tie evaluations to mimetic aspects, traditional
craftsmanship, fidelity, attention to detail (Getzels &
Csikszentmihalyi, 1969; Hekkert & Van Wieringen, 1996).
original and high-effort reproductions
equivalent (Newman & Bloom, 2012).
• Oil paintings (reproduction) vs.
photos duplicating content = higher
beauty, liking (Mizokami et al., 2014),
reward-related/visual brain regions
(Lacey et al., 2011).
• Viewing brushstrokes elicit responses
in motor regions corresponding to hand
movement in direction used to make
the brushstroke (Taylor, Witt, &
Grimaldi, 2012).
• EEG comparison of photographs of
artworks of stretched canvas with
slashes cut by artist, vs. simplified
reproductions = mu rhythm suppression
(over C3/C4, sensory-motor, and
occipital) in originals. Originals more
liked (Umiltà, Berchio, Sestito,
Freedberg, & Gallese, 2012).
• Eye-tracking: experts give less
scrutiny to composition elements and
balance (Augustin & Leder, 2006).
Authenticity
• Pre-classification (1): Knowledge that art is actual product of
making can imbue “aura” (Benjamin, 1969), historical connection
(Berger, 1972; Newman & Bloom, 2012).
• Difference between "index"--object with intact historical
connection to object/origin--and icon/image--or reproduction (e.g.,
Pierce, 1903)
• Art loses value to greater extent if it switches status to nonoriginal/reproduction, compared to similar one-of-a-kind objects
(i.e., jewelry or furniture) (Newman & Bloom, 2012).
• Cognitive mastery (5): Assessed beauty or other hedonic factors
heightened by use of certain media/textures (Parsons, 1987),
through sense of importance from physical presence (Lorand,
1994), historical significance, fragility (Ingarden, 1985; Pelowski &
Akiba, 2011).
• Believing that artist had high degree
of hands-on contact with sculpture =
more valuable (Newman & Bloom,
2012).
• Authentic artwork vs. copy = higher
perceived quality and artist talent
(Wolz & Carbon, 2014), activation of
the orbitofrontal cortex (Huang et al.,
2011), frontal, and parietal regions
(Noguchi & Murota, 2013).
• Artworks thought to be by esteemed
artists/from museums vs. designs by
researcher = more appealing, activate
prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices,
associated with perceived reward and
value (Kirk, Skov, Hulme, Christensen,
& Zeki, 2009).
empirical museum study by Pelowski
et al. (2012).
• Survey contemporary art viewers
=major reason for going seeing real art
(Mastandrea, Bartoli, & Bove, 2009).
Seeing as
• Pre-classification (1): “Transferability thesis” (Currie, 1985;
Locher et al., 1999)—viewers are willing to treat an image as an
artwork—may not always apply with many viewers/art types.
• Photos of paintings vs. similarly
arranged images without marks of
artists = the latter considered “not art,”,
'Art'
2
Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Interplay of
material/
image
• Art photos or simplified images may be considered less “real”.
• Believing work to be art may increase expected pleasure
(Hagtvedt & Patrick, 2008; Leder, Belke, Oeberst, & Augustin,
2004), cause attention to stylistic and formal properties (Cupchik,
Vartanian, Crawley, & Mikulis, 2009; Kirk et al., 2009), cause
elaborative processing style beyond simple object recognition
(Nadal, Munar, Capó, Rosselló, & Cela-Conde, 2008).
• May trigger aesthetic mode or detached judgment. Focus on form
and hedonic aspects rather than content (Cupchik & Winston, 1996;
Gerger, Leder, & Kremer, 2014).
• Cognitive mastery (5), Secondary Processing (5B, 5C):
Arthood motivates search for intention or belief that object has
underlying rules/meaning. May cause objects to be seen as
controlled instead of random (Boas, 1943), important (Bailey,
2000); interaction taken more seriously (Rollins, 2004). Important
for initially novel, challenging art (Kiefer, 2005; Parsons, 1987)-viewer may persist longer or not disengage--or cases where art
never has clear meaning (e.g., conceptual art).
• May increase (Wagner, Menninghaus, Hanich, & Jacobsen, 2014)
or decrease positive emotional arousal (Gerger et al., 2014). May
allow detached appreciation of negative emotion, or allow to feel
disgust because of underlying intention (Becker, 1974; Silvia,
2009).
• Perceptual analysis (2): Imperfections in art vs. crisp digital
reproductions may lead to less fluency, liking/beauty.
• Explicit classification, Cognitive Mastery (2-5): Imperfections
may play role as "punctum," reinforcing historical aspect or artist
contribution, giving deeper sense of importance or meaning.
• awareness of brushstrokes or rawness of material important for
impressionist/abstract painting (Dezeuze, 2005); surprising textures.
• Modern art created with "analog" quality, requiring sharing of
space with viewer (Saltz, 1997; Vitz, 1988). Opposed to "digital"
art focused on mimetic content/less impacted by reproduction?
• Art may use verisimilitude between materials/image.
Pop Art, ready-mades may require sensual presence to activate
conceptual tension between ‘everyday object’ and ‘art’ status
(Dezeuze, 2005).
3
lower hedonic ratings and brain
activations of reward-related and visual
brain regions (Lacey et al., 2011).
• Comparing photographs of slashedcanvas artworks vs. simplified black
and white images= simplified images
assessed as “not art,” with lower liking,
familiarity and sensorimotor brain
responses (Umiltà et al., 2012).
• Disgusting photos framed as "artistic"
vs. documentary materials = higher
positive emotional responses, same
reported negative emotion (Wagner et
al., 2014).
• Positive/negative artworks and IAPS
pictures, accompanied by the
information “this is art” or “this is a
photograph” showed reduced reported
joy and smiling in art context, no
difference in negative reaction (Gerger
et al., 2014).
----
Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Table S2
Viewer context: Key aspects and previous studies regarding original/museum vs. laboratory art
Factor
hypothesized impact
Notable empirical findings
Typical museum
• Pre-classification (1), Implicit Memory Integration (3),
Explicit classification (4)
• Typical museum visitor likely white-collar/professional,
upper/middle class, with high education and income, female
• Difference from lab participant: older, higher income/art
interest.
• Younger (lab) viewers less comfortable with art? May have
“omnivorous” interests (Hanquinet, 2013), like both low/high
brow culture, prefer newer styles/ abstract art.
• Recent changes in demographics of museum visitors from
high/low class, to "omnivore" visitor who enjoys a wide range
of both low/highbrow activities. May be more tied to education
(Chang, 2006; Hanquinet, 2013), and thus better align with lab
participant.
• Cognitive Mastery (5): More expertise in museum viewers:
emphasize formal, stylistic, historical, and relational properties
(Hekkert & Van Wieringen, 1996); more likely to use aesthetic
mode, more positive, less negative emotion (Cupchik &
Gebotys, 1988); more likely to see artwork as autonomous
entity (Hekkert & Van Wieringen, 1996), less swayed by
context or priming (Kirk, Harvey, & Montague, 2011).
• Art naïve viewer expectations: art should please, evoke
peaceful feelings, positive memories, and appeal to many
people (Winston & Cupchik, 1992). Experienced viewers: art
should intellectually challenge, express artist's feelings, hold
layered meaning (Cupchik, 1995). Key for art that
violates/confirms ideas?
• Museum study shows negative
correlation between age and liking of
abstract or contemporary art; positive
correlation of abstract liking and
education (Mastandrea et al., 2009).
• Recent survey of Belgian art viewers
(Hanquinet, 2013), showed previously
unobserved “heterogeneity” in
visitors’ tastes, cultural and leisure
activities and art knowledge. Suggests
change to herbovore model.
• Schuster (1991) survey of museum
visitors: 55% had some graduate
school education.
• Experts show less extreme
emotional valence and less negative
emotion when viewing
negative/difficult art. Also rate more
positively (Leder, Gerger, Brieber, &
Schwarz, 2014).
• Art expertise insulates against
judgment bias from contextual
priming (corporate sponsorship of
study, previously shown to impact
ratings of art in non-experts).
Correlates with lack of modulation of
VMPFC, activation of DLPFC (Kirk
et al., 2011).
• Sensation seeking level higher in
comparison of contemporary art
museum visitors vs. ancient art
museum (Mastandrea et al., 2009).
• Survey of museum visitors: tend to
enjoy “uncertain and varied terrain”
and show “openness” to new art or
ideas (DiMaggio, 1996).
vs. lab visitor
Personality
differences
• Pre-classification (1): Participants from museum/lab may
self-select personality aspects.
• Openness to experience (Costa & McCrae, 1992) likely
among museum visitors/experts? = predicts chills, feeling
touched, absorption (Silvia & Nusbaum, 2011), positive ratings
of abstract (Feist & Brady, 2004), Pop, representational art
(Furnham & Walker, 2001).
• Sensation seeking: similar correlations as Openness
(Rawlings, Vidal, & Furnham, 2000; Swami, Stieger,
Pietschnig, & Voracek, 2010), may correlate to visiting art
museum (Mastandrea et al., 2009).
• Personal independence: motivates actions that allow
expression of self-defining attributes (Markus & Kitayama,
1991), may cause look for novel or non-traditional art.
• Need for cognition (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982) may motivate
4
Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
museum visitors in meaning making or higher enjoyment from
challenging art (Packer & Ballantyne, 2002).
Expectations for
visiting
playfulness/
spontaneity
Museum,
seasonal,
audience
differences
• Pre-classification (1): Typical motivations: enjoyment,
interest; learning/enrichment; leisure; social opportunity
(Chang, 2006; Hendon, Costa, & Rosenberg, 1989; JansenVerbeke & van Rekom, 1996); seeing real art (Mastandrea,
Bartoli, & Bove, 2007; Mastandrea et al., 2009).
• Basic choice to visit a museum/see art may influence framing,
expectations, increase value (Newman & Bloom, 2012).
• Expectation for enjoyment/learning, may increase hedonic
pleasure, emotion, cognitive engagement (Bitgood, 1992;
Packer & Ballantyne, 2002).
• Possible differences in regards to what constitutes
successful/satisfying museum experience. Lab interaction
typically involves goal of getting through smoothly with no
negative outcomes (Hilton & Darley, 1985) = lower
introspection, leisure, learning.
• Expectation of learning/receiving information vs. detached,
formal appreciation; inversely correlated? (Pekarik, Doering, &
Karns, 1999)
• (Mastandrea et al., 2007, 2009):
Survey of Modern and ancient art
museum visitors = first motivation
among Modern visitors = see genuine
art.
• Hendon et al. (1989): review of
museum surveys 1976-79 = 40%
come for interest/ curiosity, 15-20%
bring children.
• Need for cognitive experience, vs.
emotional etc., higher in art museum
visitors vs. science/natural hisotry
museums (Packer & Ballantyne,
2002).
• Pekarik et al. (1999) surveyed
visitors in nine Smithsonian museums
(US, including contemporary, classic
art, history and science). Four
experience categories: Object,
Cognitive, Introspective, Social.
• Cognitive Mastery (5): Noted in museum expectations (e.g.,
Kotler, 1999). May inform interaction--not following sequence,
fulfilling own agenda (Bitgood, 2006; Falk, 1993).
• May provide more viewer-centered experience, sense of
control, personal connections (Packer & Ballantyne, 2002),
learning and risk-taking (Peyton, Bass, Burke, & Frank, 2005).
May be important for “detached” or “profound” experience.
• Increased activation in frontal lobe
when individuals take playful or novel
approach to rudimentary tasks,
providing support for a relationship
between play and learning (Peyton et
al., 2005).
• Summer, weekend, blockbuster exhibits may have a larger
number of tourists/art-naïve visitors (e.g., Pekarik et al., 1999).
For frequent visitors, peak times may be less comfortable--long
lines/crowding--causing more negative mood compared to
tourists? (Griswold, Mangione, & McDonnell, 2013)
• Modern/contemporary art: younger, more educated, less
wealthy, more interested in art/expert audience.
Classic/historical museums. more tourists, less art interest
• Going to museums 3+ times a year = more likely to highly
value leisure attributes of museum, not cognition/learning.
More comfortable with the art (Hendon et al., 1989).
• Expectations may differ between museums, or times of visits
• (Mastandrea et al., 2007):
Comparison of attendees at ancient vs.
contemporary art = Classic: less
overall art interest, expectations for
learning. Contemporary: more
familiar with art, attended more
regularly, expectation of emotion and
pleasure seeking.
• (Mastandrea et al., 2009) comparing
lesser-known contemporary and
museums = Contemporary viewers
10 years younger, same motivation
5
Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
(weekend/week day, peak tourist season). However, type of
expectations remain stable between visits and in general for one
museum (Pekarik et al., 1999). First timers (Higgs, Polonsky, &
Hollick, 2005) have lower expectations, may cause facile or
stunted interactions).
6
differences. Contemporary visitors
higher sensation seeking, higher/more
varied emotions, including negative.
• Haacke (in Becker, 1982) study of
visitors to avant-garde gallery (NY) =
more leftist political leanings, more
adventurous taste than typical
museum visitors.
Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Table S3
Museum/Gallery context: Physical space and artwork display factors
Factor
hypothesized impact
Notable empirical findings
Architecture
• Pre-classification (1): hallways, elevators, stairs may create
certain types of approaches or viewpoints, thus framing
attention to specific aspects (Griswold et al., 2013).
• Room size may create certain moods: large halls = more
important art, encourage sublime? Small room = more
personal/intimate or aesthetic response.
• Opulence/austerity ("white cube") of gallery may inform
perceived art importance, value, and increase/decrease outside
influence.
• Lay-out, ease of navigation may impact general pleasure or
interest.
• Other exhibits/galleries my disrupt viewing or compete for
attention.
• Implicit Memory (3): spatial cues of museum may help with
recall of specific art.
• Pre-classification (1): hanging object higher than others,
hanging large object with smaller others, hanging against
distinctive color wall/spotlight, increases focus and perceived
importance (Bitgood, 1992; Miles, Alt, Gosling, Lewis, & Tout,
1982).
• painting heights can be arranged to create rhythms or connect
artworks into units/sequence.
• paintings hung very high can give sense of "observing"--cue
self-awareness (Pelowski et al., 2012).
• Rooms with curved walls vs. rectilinear =
higher judgment of room beauty,
pleasantness, activation of ACC (reward)
and visual cortex (Vartanian et al., 2013).
• placing exhibits opposite each other can
reduce attention to specific objects
(general museum study see Bitgood,
1992).
• computer-based display of art/graffiti in
white wall vs. street (concrete background)
setting = no impact from context.
Frame
• Perceptual Analysis (2), Implicit Memory (3): may guide
looking, complete a work, draw attention via color or shape.
• frame opulence or design may also interact (concord/discord)
with art.
Ropes,
boundaries,
cases
• Pre-classification (1), Perceptual Analysis (2): create both
art and visitor space, prescribing certain approaches/focus.
• Cognitive Mastery (5): May cause sense of distance, aesthetic
response, sense of importance.
• crossing barrier may increase viewing time or hold a visitor.
• lab study of art with frames varying in
color/pattern = no recall of frame unless
viewing task drew attention to frame. If
frame-focused task, less recall of art
(Koutstaal, 1998).
• lab study of drawings with frames
varying in color (black, blue, red) and
straight/wavy, followed by recall task =
lower recall only when frame
suprising/incongruous.
• crossing subtle barrier (bright strip of
deep pile carpet) increased viewing time of
museum display (Alexander, Ishikawa, &
Silverstein, 1977).
Lighting
• Pre-classification (1), Perceptual Analysis (2): May act to
draw attention to specific art, increase/decrease importance,
position the viewer, highlight style/context features.
• certain art media may benefit from certain light:
sculpture/painting = natural light. Textures/glazes = low
levels/incandescent light?
• Pre-classification (1), Explicit classification (4): certain
lighting types may also change viewer mood or the emotional
tone of art.
Artwork
display,
hanging
7
• hanging object higher than others,
hanging large object with smaller others,
hanging against distinctive color
wall/spotlight, increases focus and
perceived importance (Miles et al., 1982).
---
Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Labels
• Explicit Classification (4), Cognitive Mastering (5): titles,
artwork descriptions may increase fluency, understanding,
positive ratings.
• labels may also distract from viewing or direct attention.
• choice to read label may vary with personality, and also
indicate level of prior comfort or knowledge about art.
• label position may change standing/viewing location.
• Cognitive Mastery (5): type of information may prime
specific aesthetic/pragmatic processing modes.
• didactic information may suggest to lay viewers that they
should understand or should not feel confusion/challenge.
Culture and
the Museum
• Pre-expectations (1): Cultural attitudes about museum can
enhance art importance/value.
• Objects ‘enshrined’ or connected to cultural centrality,
opulence (Jacobsen, 2006).
• Western museum: “responsibility” to enlighten visitors and
improve morally/socially (McCracken, 2003), encourage
reverence, seriousness (Hudson, 1987).
• Museums invite codes for behavior, or decorum (not touching,
not yelling/being mindful of others; Newhouse, 2005). May
change between country, time, museum.
• Museums may diffuse troubling art, create safe zone for
viewing (Goffman, 1967), encourage nationalistic/patriotic
focus (Dewey, 1980), historical connection (R. A. Smith, 1992).
• Location: museums situated in central, prized civic locations.
Trip to museum special occasion. May encourage sense of
social engagement, importance (Barthes, 1983).
• Cognitive Mastery (5): Museum may encourage “aesthetic”
mode: belief that that one should adopt contemplative
assessment of form vs. more goal-driven assessment (Dezeuze,
2005). May have positive or negative implications.
• Positive: provide required context for appreciating initially
ambiguous or challenging art; increase fluency by priming us to
look for certain art-important qualities (Jacobsen, 2006).
Processing mode: require detached, non-personal approach
(Bourdieu, 1984; Fried, 2005). Artists may play with/require
aesthetic distance, causing tension with expectations (e.g.,
destroy detached experience, readymades, conceptual art;
Crowther, 1993; Pelowski & Akiba, 2011).
• Negative: Museum could blunt art impact, or render art
impotent by “annexing” objects, separating them from ordinary
life, “aestheticizing” them (Dufrenne, 1973; Hickey, 1993).
• Museum cultural context could reduce importance of real art:
viewers may not question images as art if in museum.
Museum and
aesthetic/oth
er processing
modes
8
• titles increase meaningfulness, decrease
abstractness of art (Russell & Milne,
1997).
• artwork description and name of artist =
higher hedonic ratings (Gerger & Leder,
2015; Russell, 2003).
• descriptive vs. metaphorical titles
increase comprehension of photos.
Metaphorical increase aesthetic experience
(Millis, 2001).
• removing labels from MOMA sculpture
exhibition = generally not noticed by
visitors (Pekarik, 2004).
• Didactic title info = less careful viewing
and recall of formal artwork elements
(Baber et al., 2001).
• in museum, viewers stand to side of
painting that has label (Tröndle &
Tschacher, 2012).
• Comparison of contemporary artworks in
museum (real art) vs. laboratory
(reproduction): participants liked art more,
found more interesting, spent more time
looking in museum context (Brieber et al.,
2014).
• Museum (real) art more arousing, liked,
positive, interesting, understood. Ratings
in lab, after museum, lower than all other
lab conditions, suggesting high
disappointment. Participants recalled more
artworks if first viewed in museum
(Brieber, Nadal, et al., 2015).
• Brieber et al. (2014, Table 1), showed
that the relation between ambiguity and
viewing time was positive in the museum
and negative in laboratory context.
“Museums foster an enduring and focused
aesthetic experience.”
Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Table S4
Museum/Gallery context: Viewer action and movement
Factor
hypothesized impact
Noted related empirical findings
In-Gallery
movement
and action
• Perceptual Analysis (2): Generally follow similar pattern in
museums: survey the room, assess, move from work to work with
brief glances, form gist impression and decide to continue or move on
(Locher et al., 1996).
• Follow wall around room, leave at first doorway, without crossing
gallery (Bitgood, 1992; Bitgood & Dukes, 2006; Melton, 1972).
• Visitors turn/move right upon entering, give more attention to
works on right (Bitgood, 1992). May connect to research suggesting
preference of paintings with right-side details/rightward movement
(Wilson & Chatterjee, 2005, but see Locher et al., 2007).
• Does changing direction of approaching change art evaluation?
• Approach across room: slowly reveal/highlight features (colors,
large details), impact hedonic assessment, reinforce progression from
gestalt shape/color to detail. Imbue importance, increase participatory
perspective (Alexander et al., 1977; Novitz, 2001).
• Images with salient objects located on
right preferred, Western cultures prefer
images with implied left to right
movement (Wilson & Chatterjee, 2005).
• Eye-tracking study (Locher et al., 2007)
= right-handed individuals prefer
asymmetrical paintings with areas of
interest in left pictorial field. Viewers
concentrate attention on right, avoid right
field.
• Study of behavior in public areas =
usually walk on right, "oddballs" go left,
against traffic (Whyte, 1988).
Cost,
museum
fatigue,
satiation
• Pre-classification (1): "Cost-minimizing approach” (Bitgood &
Patterson, 1993): viewers spend minimum energy required to see
exhibits. Difficult/easy to access works differently evaluated?
Selected works = deeper attention/engagement?
• “Museum fatigue” (Bitgood, 2009; Davey, 2005; Melton, 1935):
visitors decrease effort/interest, viewing time as they see more works.
• Exhibits near entrance get more attention (Chang, 2006).
• “Satiation” (Bitgood, 2006, 2009): decreased attention due to
repeated exposure to homogenous stimulation (e.g., a series of similar
artworks)?
• Museum fatigue not yet considered in empirical aesthetic
psychology.
• Unstructured vs. Structured (sequence linear, determined by
designer/researcher) viewing may lead to higher hedonic rating, more
comfort, enjoyment, less fatigue (Falk, 1993).
• Study of lab art viewing involving 100
art prints, participants asked to look as
long as desired = progressive decrease in
attention, higher rate in lab vs. museums
(Robinson, 1928).
• Study of viewing times in general
museum: the larger the number of works,
the shorter the time spent viewing
individual pieces (Serrell, 1996, see
Chang, 2006).
• Comparative study of general museum
viewing = visitors show, and report, less
confusion when freely selecting objects
(Falk, 1993).
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Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Viewing
distance
and
movement
in front of
artworks
• Perceptual analysis (2): Glance at work, approach, read a label,
step back, find viewing distance.
• Viewing distance used by viewer/artist to change intimacy/impact,
guides attention, meaning.
• Viewers may choose perspectives/distance to limit or change
experience: stand too far away for form appraisal, enjoy ‘too-close’
perspective for envelopment/intimacy; move between up-close and
more distant perspective.
• Movement may tie to eye-tracking research (gist to details)?
• Standing/ambulatory viewing may be key for perception: cognition
linked to motor behavior (Gramann, Gwin, Bigdely-Shamlo, Ferris,
& Makeig, 2010). “Natural vision” (Gibson, 1986) may lead to more
temporal uncovering of information, hedonic assessment,
understanding (Berlyne, 1974), neural function.
• Movement key for art types? (e.g., Sculpture requires viewing from
all sides, Verstegen, 2006)
• Active vs. passive viewing may increase sense of participation
(Novitz, 2001).
• Painting can be viewed completely
from distance of twice longest
dimension, proposed viewing angle of
~27° (Clarke, Shortess, & Richter, 1984;
Maertens, 1884).
• Museum/laboratory analysis of
individuals allowed to look at large
(175x117cm) and small (67x46cm) art
reproductions: Visual angle greater for
large (~35°) than small (25°) paintings.
Viewers look longer when closer. Choice
of distance, and relation to liking/interest
differed between participants (Clarke et
al., 1984).
• Investigation of paintings with
perspectival elements: individuals
increase enjoyment by increasing
viewing distance (Papathomas, 2002).
• Museum study: large individual
differences when participants asked to
move to point where portraits
transitioned from abstract pattern to
image (Pelli, 1999).
• Walking while doing cognitive tasks vs.
sitting = increased PFC activation
(Holtzer et al., 2011).
Body,
physiologic
al
responses
• Stages 1-3: Body movement/gesture may be important for vision,
fluency or working memory/maintenance of spatial representations
(Leder, Bär, & Topolinski, 2012; Wesp, Hesse, Keutmann, &
Wheaton, 2001). Restriction on gesture/ arm movement may reduce
cognitive ability (Davoli & Abrams, 2009; Morsella & Krauss, 2004).
Generalized bodily arousal/awareness of movement may focus
attention/facilitate evaluation (Cupchik, 2006; Jacobsen, 2006;
Tröndle & Tschacher, 2012).
• 5B: Sounds, smells, touch could heighten self-awareness or
reflection (Pelowski et al., 2012). Restrained movements (chair in
theater or social rules against clapping/yelling), in engagement of
emotionally powerful, sublime, beautiful stimuli, can cause intense
reaction/helplessness (Pelowski, 2015).
• Museum study with belt accelerometer
= free vs. fixed viewing paradigm
induced larger antero-posterior sway
speed and displacement (Kapoula, Lang,
& Locher, 2014).
• Postural sway and stability modulated
by local pictorial depth, lean into deep
paintings (Kapoula, Adenis, Lê, Yang, &
Lipede, 2011).
• Viewers unconsciously adopt leaning or
upright postures of tall sculptures
(Richard Serra, see Kapoula et al., 2011).
• Museum study of abstract paintings:
environmental "triggers" (hearing one’s
footsteps, blown air conditioning) may
induce meta-cognitive reflection, insight,
positive assessment (Pelowski et al.,
2012).
• Museum study: heart rate correlated to
assessed artwork “dominance” and
curative quality. Heart rate variability
predicted by art aesthetic quality and felt
surprise/humor (Tschacher et al., 2012).
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Supplimentary Materials: Factors Influencing Interaction with ‘Real’ and Museum-based Art
Mood or
emotion
• Pre-expectations (1), Explicit Classification (4): Weather, odors,
lighting, may influence mood, (energy, edginess, calmness; Gendolla,
2000).
• Museum environment/real art more likely to engage/threaten self.
May evoke negative responses.
• Emotion tone/type may vary depending on felt potency of
art/environment (Morgan & Heise, 1988) or felt requirement for
coping (Silvia, 2006). More/less likely in museum.
Time
• All stages: Museum studies: 20-40s may allow for gist,
classification of style, preference.
• Gist viewing may only require a few fixations (Kuchinke, Trapp,
Jacobs, & Leder, 2009; Locher et al., 2007; Locher et al., 2010)
• 3-4 seconds major threshold for basic emotional response (Geday,
Kupers, & Gjedde, 2007).
• Many lab studies less than 5s, (Brieber et al., 2014): does not allow
detailed or in-depth processing.
• Truncating viewing to < 6s causes less robust appraisals (e.g.,
liking) (Bachmann & Vipper, 1983).
• Longer durations (5-10+ minutes) may be required for more
profound/changed perception or aesthetic experiences (Leder &
Nadal, 2014; Pelowski & Akiba, 2011)
11
• Performing hand movements
mimicking strokes of paintings = higher
liking (Leder et al., 2012).
• Abstract art liked more when primed by
happy faces and less with disgusted faces
(Flexas et al., 2013).
• Participants in negative affective state
wanted to see paintings with negative
themes a second time vs. neutral,
however because the art “evoked
thoughts rather than feelings” (Kemp &
Cupchik, 2007)
• Lonely viewers asked to assess
paintings of lonely figures, preferred
stylistic qualities over subject (Cupchik
& Wroblewski-Raya, 1998).
• Being exposed to fear-inducing video
before rating artworks = more positive
evaluations (Eskine, Kacinik, & Prinz,
2012).
• Museum studies of viewing time:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY= 30s
average (J. K. Smith & Smith, 2001).
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Gallen,
Switzerland = Median 11s (Tröndle &
Tschacher, 2012). Museum of
contemporary art, Vienna = 30s average
(Brieber et al., 2014).
• Lab study, participants allowed to look
freely = average of 32.5s (Locher et al.,
2007).
• Eye-tracking: individuals can detect
and categorize abstract/representational,
composition pleasantness/ interestingness
within 100ms (Locher et al., 2007;
Locher et al., 2010).
• EEG study of representational/abstract
art: difference in activations only after 6
and 8.25s (Lengger, Fischmeister, Leder,
& Bauer, 2007).
• Comparison of museum vs. laboratory
= participants like contemporary art
more/find more interesting when spend
more time. Look longer in museum
(Brieber et al., 2014)
• Museum study with abstract paintings
of insightful experience/crying= 7.5 to
20 minutes, ~2x longer than other
viewers (Pelowski, 2015).