AFP – Art lovers can’t always explain why some creations leave them cold, while others make them feel overcome with emotion.
A device being studied in Britain could soon help them understand their artistic preferences by analysing their brain activity.
This device takes the form of a wireless headset, which is placed on the wearer’s forehead and behind their ears.
It is equipped with sensors to record the brain activity of an individual looking at a work of art.
The data is sent, in real time, to a computer so that an expert can analyse and visualise it in 3D, thanks to technology developed by special effects company The Mill.
This innovative device is part of a project piloted by Art Fund, a British charity seeking to democratise access to culture and museums.
It was tested for the first time in early November at the Courtauld Gallery in central London.
Visitors were able to try out the device as they strolled through the galleries of this museum, which houses works dating from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century.
Some of them were thus able to visualise the electrical signals linked to certain brain activities as they admired Vincent van Gogh’s Self Portrait With A Bandaged Ear (1889), Matthew Arnold Bracy Smith’s Lilies In A Jar (1914) and Leon Kossoff’s Shell Building Site (1962).
At the same time, the testers were asked to complete a questionnaire on the emotions they felt for each of the three paintings.
The results showed that most respondents felt “curious” and “intrigued” by the Van Gogh, “confused” by and “curious” about the Kossoff, and “relaxed” upon contemplating the Bracy Smith.
LOOKING AT A WORK OF ART AWAKENS THE BRAIN
Dr Ahmad Beyh, a neuroscientist and postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University, pointed out that this new device could advance our understanding of the brain mechanisms that help shape our artistic tastes.
“We know that when a person views something that they find beautiful, for example, a face or an abstract art painting, their brain’s pleasure centres light up and its visual sensory centre is engaged more intensely. Studies suggest that this is accompanied by a release of dopamine, which is also known as the feel-good neurotransmitter,” he said in a statement.
An academic paper, published in January in the journal Nature Communications, supports these findings, revealing that several parts of the brain are involved in forming an opinion about a work of art.
The new device will be tested in other British art establishments during 2024. The Art Fund charity has not yet revealed the list of partner institutions, but it nevertheless hopes that the initiative will help attract curious visitors to museums.
One of its recent reports concluded that access to museums remains the preserve of the more privileged in Britain, even from an early age.
In 2022, only 52 per cent of children and teenagers of lower socioeconomic status visited a museum, the research states.
In comparison, 70 per cent of more privileged young people visited an art establishment last year.