The Art Gallery May Leave You Feeling Some Type of Way: Recent studies show art can evoke emotion
By: Isabella Kicklighter, Multimedia Journalist
A recent study conducted by a Professor at the University of Turku suggests that looking at art can affect human emotions.
Lauri Nummenmaa, the professor behind this study, wanted to find a way to continue the work of his lab even during the restrictions the world faced during COVID-19 back in 2020. “Our laboratories were closed and we wanted to keep on pushing research nevertheless,” said Nummenmaa.
He always had seen emotions worked through in science but never a deep dive into the idea of art evoking emotion. Nummenmaa wanted to find a way to further understand the connection between humans and art.
He explained that he and his team found a way to conduct their experiment while following CDC guidelines through online surveys. Participants volunteered to take online surveys with images of various art works, both well known and lesser known pieces. The images were followed by a series of questions about what they saw.
“We then complemented the questionnaire data with eye movement recordings done in the lab,“ said Nummenmaa.
The eye movement recordings allowed the researchers to study the viewing patterns between participants.
Images used in the survey, provided by Lauri Nummenmaa
His findings suggest that people can be drawn to art based on the feeling they get when viewing it but it also showed that there is no one-to-one correlation between the content of the artwork and the emotion it evokes in the viewer. Meaning the reactions to the art were predominantly positive regardless if the artwork was scary, sad or happy in nature.
“Art evokes feelings in the body, and such stimulation of the body’s pleasure centers feels pleasant to the viewer,” said Nummenmaa.
The pleasure center of the human brain sends signals in reaction to what the body experiences. These signals use neurochemical dopamine which is directly associated with the body's reward center, making the viewer feel pleasure, for example, when they view artwork.
This is not the arts’ first debut in science. Art in science comes in various forms from microscope images to art therapy.
“Art has the ability to tap into thoughts, feelings, and emotions that are beyond what words can describe,” said Lauren Chapman, art therapist at South Carolina University's Hospital.
Chapman’s work supports the idea that art can help the human body, in this case, through therapy to help with mental health.
Although there is very limited research on the topic of art and its various effects on the human body, Chapman added, “Through the lens of neuroscience, we are learning more about the connections between psychological processes with biological indicators such as heart rate, breathing, and muscle tension that are reflected in art through color, symbolism, metaphor, etc.”
In other words, as science of the brain, neuroscience develops, all science related to the connections of the body and mind, biological and psychological, are being studied further in comparison to art because art is a direct representation of humans.
“Unlike other emotion-evoking situations such as mating, feeding or physical threats, art does not seem to pertain with any clear biological survival function,” said Lauri Nummenmaa.
The more that we understand about these connections the more science grows to understand why the human body reacts to art.
“I am fine with science researching the world of art. This research can confirm the impact art has on us,” said Tony Phillips, Art Administrator for Averitt Center in Statesboro, Georgia.
Phillips is surrounded by art daily, working at the Averitt center. Artists like himself relate to the research conducted by Nummenmaa and appreciate the work put into understanding their world of art.
To Phillips the idea that art evokes emotion is something of a norm for him and he expressed art as being an outlet for himself and others at the Averitt Center both artist as well as viewers.
Phillips summed up his idea on the scientific exploration of art, “Art is the expression of life in an explorable format.”
Nummenmaa, Chapman and Lauri all share a connection with art in their lives. From curiosity to an appreciation to the form of expression. Hopefully with further experiments, the mysterious connection between humans and art can be understood further on a scientific level.
Resources
Tony Phillips tphillips@averittcenterforthearts.org
Lauren Chapman chapmala@musc.edu
Descience. (2015, July 10). What is scientific art? descientists. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.fashiondescience.com/single-post/2015/07/10/what-is-scientific-art#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20many%20microscope%20images,out%20emotional%20responses%20from%20viewers.
Art evokes feelings in the body -- ScienceDaily. (n.d.). Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230327114828.htm