Search Results
Abstract
We are living in a world where photography is everywhere, and almost everyone is a photographer (in the sense of producing photographs with some aesthetic aspiration). Yet, despite the democratic nature of the medium, which suggests that anyone can make great photographs, there are large differences in the aesthetic quality of photographs. Scientifically, we do not yet grasp very well what differentiates aesthetic from non-aesthetic photographs, and how this results in a different viewer experience. In this study, we explored the visual rightness of 21 high-quality artistic photographs, compared with their ecologically valid less-than-optimal variants (one to four alternatives). The high-quality photographs were selected from an online contemporary photography competition which is judged by experts (http://www.life-framer.com). The alternatives were variants provided by the photographers themselves. Participants (
) preferred the original photograph significantly more than chance level for the majority of the sets (13 out of 21), and significantly less than chance level for a minority of sets (three out of 21). This is in line with the visual rightness theory of picture perception, maintaining that artists are experts in creating visually right images, and that this is salient to nonexpert viewers. Yet, the preference for the original differed greatly between sets (range: 9.63–79.68%) and the original photograph was also the most preferred one in ‘only’ 12 out of 21 sets. Qualitative content analysis showed that preferences were influenced by many levels of photographic information (color, contrast, sharpness, composition, emotional expression, etc.), which were often working together. The most aesthetically powerful photographs reveal a skillful combination of medium, form, and subject matter levels, to produce an optimal visual message. Results have implications for empirical aesthetics, the photography practice, and for our understanding of photography literacy, a key topic in a world where there are many more photographs than humans that can appreciate them.
Abstract
An eye-tracking and questionnaire study was set up in collaboration with the Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) to investigate the perception and appreciation of three Frank Stella paintings from the 60s (Tuxedo Park and Effingham I from the collection of the museum and a hand-painted replica of Hiraqla Variation II). Effingham and Hiraqla were shown next to a printed copy without fluorescent colors, for a direct comparison between the two versions. The main purpose of the study was to assess whether the works were experienced according to Stella’s prescriptions as defined in his Modernist ‘logic’: all-overness, flatness, instantaneousness and self-referentiality. We found that the perception of Tuxedo resulted in a well-structured, coherent heatmap, while a more or less even distribution of fixations over the surface was found in the case of Effingham and Hiraqla (and their copies), which indicates that Stella’s target of all-overness was achieved better in the last two works. Although Stella claimed to have created “flat and frontal” paintings, depth was experienced, especially in Tuxedo and the Hiraqla replica. In the latter, this was mainly caused by the protruding fluorescent colors. Also, in this work more fixations were found in fluorescent-colored areas when corrected for area size. No such effect was found in the original Effingham painting. Most participants found only Effingham to be instantaneously capturable. In the case of Tuxedo, the specific material qualities, like alkyd and open canvas, were rarely recognized, which undermines Stella’s aim for self-referentiality. Participants noticed the fluorescent effect in the Hiraqla replica, but they did not mention other material qualities. A reverse effect was found for Effingham.
Abstract
Perceptual organisation is hypothesised as a key in the perception and appreciation of abstract art. Here, we investigated how relational and compositional features affected the perception and aesthetic appreciation of Black Square and Red Square by Kazimir Malevich (1915). We studied how (i) the presence and obliquity of the red square and (ii) the relative configuration of the black and red square affected the detectability of the obliquity of the black square in this artwork. Results showed that the simultaneous presence and obliquity of the red square masked the obliquity of the original black square. The likelihood of the black square being incorrectly perceived as an exact square was always maximum in the original configuration and even slight alterations in the original configuration of the work resulted in the obliquity of the black square to be noticed. The original artwork was more aesthetically preferred compared to its alternatives. We argue that the artist may have intentionally set the configuration to mask the obliquity of the black square and maximise the aesthetic preference.
Artistic photography is an interesting, but often overlooked, medium within the field of empirical aesthetics. Grounded in an art–science collaboration with art photographer Dominique Genin, this project focused on the relationship between the complexity of a photograph and its aesthetic appeal (beauty, pleasantness, interest). An artistic series of 24 semi-abstract photographs that play with multiple layers, recognisability vs unrecognizability and complexity was specifically created and selected for the project. A large-scale online study with a broad range of individuals (n = 453, varying in age, gender and art expertise) was set up. Exploratory data-driven analyses revealed two clusters of individuals, who responded differently to the photographs. Despite the semi-abstract nature of the photographs, differences seemed to be driven more consistently by the ‘content’ of the photograph than by its complexity levels. No consistent differences were found between clusters in age, gender or art expertise. Together, these results highlight the importance of exploratory, data-driven work in empirical aesthetics to complement and nuance findings from hypotheses-driven studies, as they allow to go further than a priori assumptions, to explore underlying clusters of participants with different response patterns, and to point towards new venues for future research. Data and code for the analyses reported in this article can be found at https://osf.io/2fws6/.
In order to investigate the effect of perceptual grouping on haptic numerosity perception, we asked participants to explore tangible dot patterns and report the number of dots present in the display. We hypothesized that when there are subsets of dots that can be grouped together, exploration time will be shorter as compared to a display where no grouping takes place. The base display consists of dots that are equally spaced on a straight line. We manipulated subset grouping by using both proximity and configurational cues. By placing subsets of dots closer together or placing them in a spatial configuration (e.g., in a triangular shape with three dots, or a rectangular shape with four dots), while keeping the total exploration distance constant, we expected to find shorter exploration times as compared to the base display. The results indeed show that both these cues yield faster exploration. We therefore conclude that both proximity and configurational information can influence haptic grouping for numerosity judgments.