Why Do We Hang Art (and Nests) On Our Walls?
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A brief examination of the psychology and motivations for hanging art on the walls inside our homes. From an "evolutionary biological" point of view, it serves no purpose.
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Why Do We Hang Art (and Nests) On Our Walls?
- 1. WHY DO WE HANG ART (AND NESTS) ON OUR WALLS? (1.0) PaulGolding ChiefScientist&DirectorLabs,Art.com (Consultant) 1
- 2. ‹#› MOTIVATIONS&APPROACH • UNDERSTANDINGWHYPEOPLEHANGARTMIGHTHINTATUSEFULVECTORSIN INNOVATION(FORREPRODUCTIONARTMARKET)INORDERTOSELLMOREART. • TRIEDTOSEEKREASONSTHATHAVESOMEKINDOFEMPIRICALEVIDENCE- E.G.FROMEVOLUTIONARYPSYCHOLOGY,NEURO-AESTHETICSETC. ! • LOOSEENSEMBLEOFIDEASTHATIFOUNDUSEFUL.IT’SAWORKIN PROGRESS.STAYTUNEDFORUPDATES. ! • READERLEFTTODRAWOWNCONCLUSIONSABOUTHOWTOUSETHE MATERIALS-GOODLUCK!STAYINTOUCH(@PGOLDING) 2
- 3. ‹#› SCOPE • EXPLOREDWALLDECORMARKET(I.E.REPRODUCTION ARTSOLDTONON-EXPERTCONSUMERS-ART.COM, IKEA,MICHAELS,TARGETETC.) • DIDN'TEXPLOREORIGINALART(BUTSOMEOVERLAP, ASWILLBECOMECLEAR) • DIDN’TEXPLORECONCEPTUALART,AVANTGARDE ETC. • MOSTLYLIMITEDSTUDYTOWALLDECOR(PICTURES) 3
- 4. ‹#› “OUTERVOICEOFCUSTOMER” “VOICEOFTHECUSTOMER”SURVEYS(E.G.UNITYMARKETINGREPORT) WILLGIVESTANDARD,PERFUNCTORYLISTOFPURCHASEMOTIVATIONS: 1. IJUSTLIKEDIT[WHENISAWIT] 2. STYLE[MATCHEDMYHOUSE] 3. COLOR[INTERESTEDME] 4. VALUE[FORMONEY] 5. SUBJECT[INTERESTEDME] 4
- 9. ‹#› SUB-CONSCIOUSPLEASUREPATTERNS OURBRAINSAREHARD-WIRED,BY EVOLUTION,TOLIKECERTAINTYPESOF VISUALPATTERNS/REPRESENTATIONS: 1. LANDSCAPES 2. NATURE 3. SYMMETRY 4. COLORS(ANDHARMONIES) 5. SIMPLICITY 6. SOURCESOFFOOD/COMFORT 9
- 15. ‹#› DOWEHAVEANINSTINCTFORBEAUTY? YES.SEVERALEVOLUTIONARYADAPTATIONSMAKESOMEOBJECTSBEAUTIFUL. ! • FACIALBEAUTY-AVERAGEDFACESSIGNALGREATERGENETICDIVERSITY. • EXAGGERATEDSEXUALDIMORPHISMSIGNALSFITNESS. • SYMMETRYSIGNALSFITNESSUNDERVARIOUSCONDITIONS(ANDEASIER VISUALPROCESSING). • LANDSCAPES(ASMENTIONED)SIGNALSAFETY,NUTRITIONETC. • BEAUTYINABSTRACTOBJECTSTHATSIGNALABILITYTOREDUCECOMPLEX INFORMATIONTOUNDERSTANDABLENUGGETS. ! “BEAUTYISALOOSEENSEMBLEOFEVOLUTIONARYADAPTATIONS”-CHATTERJEE (THEAESTHETICBRAIN). 15
- 19. ‹#› 19 ART.COMLABS Decor palettes An experiment in discovering art by decor color harmony.
- 22. ‹#› ART.COMLABS 22 ART.COMLABS See in the context of the palette
- 31. ‹#› ARTASSELF-HELPPRODUCT SOMETHINGABOUTTHEPIECE,SUCHASIT’SBEA FAMOUS,BUTCONTENTIOUS,ARTIST,BECOMESAN ESSENCE. ! THEUSERMIGHTNOTESPECIALLYLIKETHEIMAGE,BUT FAVORSWHATITSIGNALS(TOSELF). ! “IHAVETASTE”OR“IAMAVANTGARDE”ETC. 31 55 percent of survey respondents agreed that “The art I buy and display is an important outlet for my creative expression.” [Unity Marketing report 2010]
- 32. ‹#› NESTASSELF-HELPPRODUCT HIGH-TECHWALLDECOR? ! “ICANAFFORDHIGH-TECHTHERMOSTAT”(COMMODITYITEM) ! “IAMANECO-WARRIOR.” ! “IAMTECHNICALLYWITHIT.” ! “IAMMODERN.” It’s just a thermostat, really. OK. It saves you money. (And water makes me healthy.) 32
- 35. ‹#› CONSPICUOUSCONSUMPTION ORIGINALART. ! EXPENSIVE. ! SIGNALSWEALTH(TOOTHERS). ! IDENTICALPRINTHASNOSUCHVALUE. F.Mathieu “Italian Side” ($57,000) 35
- 36. ‹#› ORIGINALARTASCONTAGION ORIGINALARTHASASPECIALHISTORICAL “POSITIVECONTAGION”ESSENCE. ! PHYSICALRELATIONSHIPWITHITSCREATOR, ROOTEDINHISTORY.ANDTHEINFERRED(MOSTLY UNKNOWN)PERFORMANCEUNDERLYINGITS CREATION. ! LIKEBUYINGMEMORABILIA-40,000PAIDFOR TAPEMEASUREOWNEDBYJFK. F.Mathieu “Italian Side” ($57,000) It’s just a tape measure. 36
- 41. ‹#› WHATDOYOUSEE? TAKEYOURTIMETOSTUDYTHENEXTIMAGE ! BYMASTERPAINTERCLAUDEMONET. ! WHATDOYOUSEE? 41
- 44. ‹#› ARTASSELF-HELP Carpe diem… 44 72 percent agreed that “When choosing art for my home, the way the piece makes me feel is most important .” [Unity Marketing Report, 2010.]
- 46. ‹#› DOWEHAVEASTORYINSTINCT? 46 PINKERSAYSTHEREARESOMEADAPTATIONAL BENEFITSTOFICTIONALIZEDACCOUNTS-THEABILITY TOPREDICTANDSHAREOUTCOMESETC. ! STORIESAPPEARTOBEUNIVERSALTOALLCULTURES. ! BYVARIOUSSCHOLARLYACCOUNTS,THENUMBEROF STORYTYPES(PLOTS)AREVERYLIMITED-E.G.SEE BOOKER’S“THESEVENPLOTS.” Overcoming the monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, Rebirth.
- 48. ‹#› MEANINGAS“PACKAGING” ISITTHEDRINK? ! ORTHEPACKAGING? ! FORART,THESTORYISPACKAGING. ! ANDOTHERESSENCES. Which is the “real” thing? 48
- 52. ‹#› SOCIALCONTAGION,AGAIN. THEREISAWHOLEBODYOFKNOWLEDGEANDMEMESOUT THEREABOUTVANGOGH.HE’SFAMOUS,LIKETHE KARDASHIANS. ! WELIKEFAMOUSPEOPLE.THEYHAVESOMEKINDOFMAGIC ANDWEWANTTHEIRMAGICDUST-POSITIVECONTAGION. ! VANGOGHISWELLKNOWN.HISLIFEISWELLDOCUMENTED.HIS PAINTINGSAREWIDELYDISCUSSED,SHOWN,REFERENCEDETC. ! IFTHECROWDPAYSATTENTION,IT’SCONTAGIOUS.“BYA FAMOUSPERSON”ISASUPERSTRONGESSENCE. 52 This is by someone important. It must be good, right?
- 57. ‹#› AMERICA’SMOSTWANTED(ARTATTRIBUTES) 57 Hmmm. Study needs a pinch of salt, but you get the idea. Dishwasher size (67%)“Realistic looking” (60%) Outdoors scenes (88%) featuring lakes, rivers, oceans (49%) More vibrant shades (36%) Wild animals (51%) in natural setting (89%) Persons in group (48%) Fully clothed (68%) At leisure time (45%) Ordinary or famous people (50%) Fall scene (33%) Soft curves (66%) and playful, whimsical design (49%) Colors blended (68%) Brush strokes (53%) Blue (44%)
- 59. ‹#› AMERICA’SLEASTWANTED(ARTATTRIBUTES) 59 Study still needs a pinch of salt, but you get the idea. Paperback size (4%)Paintings that are “different looking” (30%) Thick textured surfaces (40%) Geometric patterns (30%) Darker shades (22%) Sharp angles (22%) and bold, stark designs (39%) Colors unblended (18%) Gold, orange, peach teal (1%)
- 63. ‹#› HOUSE+DECOR=HOME I feel at home 63 EVENIFWEATTACH LITTLEEMOTIONAL WEIGHTANINDIVIDUAL DECORITEM, DECORATINGISOFTEN EMOTIONALLY SIGNIFICANT… ! ! ! IT’SCALLED HOMEMAKING.
- 65. ‹#› SUBCONSCIOUSCHILDHOODMEMORIES I feel at home 65 MANYDECORITEMSARE EXPRESSIONSOFTHE SUBCONSCIOUS, ESPECIALLYMEMORIES OFCHILDHOOD- RECREATIONOFGOOD ONES,ORAVOIDANCEOF BAD.[SEEMARCUS.] Mind: “This reminds you of your summers in England”
- 66. ‹#› SUMMINGUP-1 WEMIGHTHANGARTFORTHEFOLLOWINGREASONS: ! 1. BLANKSWALLSAREUNNATURALFOROUR“SAVANNABRAINS” 2. WELIKEIMAGESTHATAREATTRACTIVEINSOME“LOWLEVEL”WAY-PATTERNSTHATPLEASE THEEYE,ASINFLUENCEDBYOUR“SAVANNAINSTINCTS” 3. WELIKEIMAGESTHATRESEMBLENATUREANDOTHERPATTERNSFROMOUR“SAVANNABRAIN” WHETHERDIRECTLY(REPRESENTATIONAL)ORINABSTRACTION 4. WELIKESYMMETRYANDCOHESION,SOWEHANGARTTHATALSOHARMONIZESWITHOUR DECOR 5. THEABOVEAREALLSOURCESOFIMMEDIATEANDDIRECTPLEASURE 6. BECAUSEOFOUR“BEAUTYINSTINCT”-ANENSEMBLEOF“SAVANNA”ADAPTATIONSINTHEMIND 66
- 71. ‹#› RESOURCES 71 The Spandrels of San Marco… (By Stephen Gould) The Assessment of Art Attributes (Chatterjee et al.) ! Click on any of the books below, or see all books on Amazon
- 72. ‹#› CREDITS 72 Lounge image by CGI artist Dean Punched (ARD Digital) ! Most art images from art.com or allposters.com (See list on next slides) ! ! art.com labs “color” website by fantastic art.com Labs team.
- 73. ‹#› ART 73 Slide Number Art shown 1,4 Night and Day by Katherin Lovell 2 Mosaic Light Bulb by Wavebreak Media Ltd 3 Periscope Field Glasses 5 Strawberry Shakes by Louise Max 10 Sunset Beach by Daniel Pollera 11 Dreaming Red Tree by Melissa Graves-‐Brown 11 Closeup of Rose 12 White House by the Sea by E Kryiakopoulou 14 Tuscan Pleasures by Husley 15 Women’s Face Sketch II by Simin Meykadeh 16 Wednesday Whimsy III by Jeni Lee 17 The Seine by the Island of Jatte in Spring by Georges Seurat 18 Because of You 1 by Philippe Sainte-‐Laudy 23 Whaam! by Roy Lichtenstein 24 Snow Geese Flying in Formation by Arthur Morris 25 Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci 25 A Peacock Spreads its Feathers at the Alipore Zoo
- 74. ‹#› ART 74 Slide Art 26, 27 Within by Jennifer Lommers 26 Abstract Blue Fractal Design 28 Bottle and Glass of Water 29 Coca-‐Cola 31 No. 14 (Gray) by Jackson Pollock 37 Just Another Day in LA by Eric Joyner 39 Pretty Little Liars 40, 42, 43, 44, 45 Woman With a Parasol -‐ Madame Monet and Her Son by Claude Monet 46 Pulp Fiction 50, 51 Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh 52 Almond Branches in Bloom by Vincent Van Gogh 53 View of Arles with Irises by Vincent Van Gogh 54 Lovers at Chi Tou by Chi Wen 55 Deer Wearing Gym Socks by Charmaine Olivia