Preference for art: similarity, statistics, and selling price

ABSTRACT Factors governing human preference for artwork have long been studied but there remain many holes in our understanding. Bearing in mind contextual factors (both the conditions under which the art is viewed, and the state of knowledge viewers have regarding art) that play some role in preference, we assess in this paper three questions. First, what is the relationship between perceived similarity and preference for different types of art? Second, are we naturally drawn to certain qualities-and perhaps to certain image statistics-in art? And third, do social and economic forces tend to select preferred stimuli, or are these forces governed by non-aesthetic factors such as age, rarity, or artist notoriety? To address the first question, we tested the notion that perceived similarity predicts preference for three classes of paintings: landscape, portrait/still-life, and abstract works. We find that preference is significantly correlated with (a) the first principal component of similarity in abstract works; and (b) the second principal component for landscapes. However, portrait/still-life images did not show a significant correlation between similarity and preference, perhaps due to effects related to face perception. The preference data were then compared to a wide variety of image statistics relevant to early visual system coding. For landscapes and abstract works, nonlinear spatial and intensity statistics relevant to visual processing explained surprisingly large portions of the variance of preference. For abstract works, a quarter of the variance of preference rankings could be explained by a statistic gauging pixel sparseness. For landscape paintings, spatial frequency amplitude spectrum statistics explained one fifth of the variance of preference data. Consistent with results for similarity, image statistics for portrait/still-life works did not correlate significantly with preference. Finally, we addressed the role of value. If there are shared "rules" of preference, one might expect "free markets" to value art in proportion to its aesthetic appeal, at least to some extent. To assess the role of value, a further test of preference was performed on a separate set of paintings recently sold at auction. Results showed that the selling price of these works showed no correlation with preference, while basic statistics were significantly correlated with preference. We conclude that selling price, which could be seen as a proxy for a painting's "value," is not predictive of preference, while shared preferences may to some extent be predictable based on image statistics. We also suggest that contextual and semantic factors play an important role in preference given that image content appears to lead to greater divergence between similarity and preference ratings for representational works, and especially for artwork that prominently depicts faces. The present paper paves the way for a more complete understanding of the relationship between shared human preferences and image statistical regularities, and it outlines the basic geometry of perceptual spaces for artwork

Aesthetic Judgment of Triangular Shape: Compactness and Not the Golden Ratio Determines Perceived Attractiveness

Many studies over a period of more than a century have investigated the influence of the golden ratio on perceived geometric beauty. Surprisingly, very few of these studies used triangular shapes. In Experiment 1, we presented right triangles that differed in regard to their elongation determined by increasing the length of one side relative to another. Attractiveness ratings did not peak at the golden ratio, but there was a very strong influence of axis ratio overall. Participant ratings were a negative decreasing function of ratio. Triangles that pointed upward were judged as significantly more attractive than those that pointed down. We interpret these results according to a compactness hypothesis: triangles that are more compact are less likely to move or break and are thus considered more pleasing. Orientation also affects aesthetics. Upward-pointing triangles with a base parallel to the ground, regardless of their compactness, are also considered more perceptually stable and attractive. These findings were replicated across stimulus type in a second experiment with isosceles triangles and across testing procedure in a third experiment using a paired comparison technique

The Perceived Beauty of Regular Polygon Tessellations

Beauty judgments for regular polygon tessellations were examined in two experiments. In experiment 1 we tested the three regular and eight semi-regular tilings characterized by a single vertex. In experiment 2 we tested the 20 demi-regular tilings containing two vertices. Observers viewed the tessellations at different random orientations inside a circular aperture and rated them using a numeric 1–7 scale. The data from the first experiment show a peak in preference for tiles with two types of polygons and for five polygons around a vertex. Triangles were liked more than other geometric shapes. The results from the second experiment demonstrate a preference for tessellations with a greater number of different kinds of polygons in the overall pattern and for tiles with the greatest difference in the number of polygons between the two vertices. Ratings were higher for tiles with circular arrangements of elements and lower for those with linear arrangements. Symmetry group p6m was liked the most and groups cmm and pmm were liked the least. Taken as a whole the results suggest a preference for complexity and variety in terms of both vertex qualities and symmetric transformations. Observers were sensitive to both the underlying mathematical properties of the patterns as well as their emergent organization

Individual Differences in the Perception of Randomized Pattern

Recent studies have shown that preference judgments can vary considerably from one person to another and when these data are averaged the results can be misleading. In the current study we examine individual differences in aesthetic preference for randomized visual patterns. In experiment 1 we start with a structured checkerboard and progressively randomize its alternating black and white squares by 10% increments. In experiment 2 we begin with a structured square array of vertical line segments and progressively randomize line orientation. In both experiments there were strong differences in responding with most participants favoring either ordered or randomized versions. We found differences in Big Five trait scores across these groupings. Individuals who scored high on extroversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness all preferred random patterns. Preference results for openness and neuroticism varied across the experiments. Explanations for predicted and obtained trait outcomes are provided

Humanity's Future: How Technology Will Change Us

This book is a collection of essays written on a variety of topics relevant to the future of humankind. The chapters are organized foundationally starting with how it is we can know and understand reality. This is followed by descriptions of future technologies and the new science that will drive them. Then we take a look at ourselves, how smart we are and how intelligent our machines may become. The final sections paint a larger picture, examining civilization with a focus on what we’ve done wrong historically and how we may correct such mistakes

No within-object advantage for detection of rotation

It is known that in a detection task the type of rigid transformation to be detected (reflec-tion vs. translation) interacts with the type of display (closed vs. open contours). The advan-tage for closed contours found with reflection is believed to be a general within-object advantage, whilst the advantage for open contours found with translation is an exception, de-scribed as a lock-and-key process (Acta Psychol. 95 (1997) 119). We tested rotation, using a reaction time paradigm, and found the same result as for translation. Moreover, we found that the critical factor is not the number of objects present, rather it is whether the comparison is made across a surface or across an aperture between surfaces. Post-experiment interviews did not confirm any difference for observers who reported using a conscious lock-and-key mental transformation. We speculate that seeing a translation or a rotation across a closed figure is difficult because the closure of the figure emphasises the mismatch of the contour polarities on the two sides of the figure. That is, there may be a closed object advantage for detecting a difference in polarity which interferes with the task of detecting a regularity in shape. Evi-dence from the analysis of foil rejection trials supports such a speculation. 2002 Elsevie