Neuroesthetics

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Neuroesthetics is a relatively recent subdiscipline of empirical aesthetics. Empirical aesthetics [1] take a scientific approach to the study of aesthetic perceptions of art and music. Neuroesthetics uses the techniques of neuroscience in order to explain and understand the esthetic experiences at the neurological level. The field was pioneered and named by Semir Zeki, who runs the Institute of Neuroesthetics at University College London.

Zeki suggests that

"...the artist is in a sense, a neuroscientist, exploring the potentials and capacities of the brain, though with different tools. How such creations can arouse aesthetic experiences can only be fully understood in neural terms. Such an understanding is now well within our reach." [2]

Neuroesthetics investigates the structure and activity of the brain in response to experiences of esthetic phenomena. Steady advances in neuroimaging tools such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and in genetic analysis have contributed to advances in neuroesthetic knowledge. For example, one neuroesthetic study showed that humans prefer images of faces when the gaze is directed towards the viewer (Kampe et al, 2001).

Since 2005 the notion of bridging brain science and the visual arts has blossomed into a field of increasing international interest. In his 2008 book, Neuroarthistory: from Aristorle and Pliny to Baxandall, Professor John Onians of the University of East Anglia positions himself in the forefront of the field of neural scientific biased art historical research. Contemporary artists like Mark S. Smith (William Campbell Gallery, USA) and others have developed extensive bodies of work mapping the convergence of brain science and painting. Smith's work explores fundamental visual analogies between neural function and self-expression in abstract art.

[edit] Bibliography (for a comprehensive and always updated bibliography see also [3])

Elbs, Oliver (2005): Neuro-Esthetics. Mapological foundations and applications. Munich. (Dissertation).
ELBS, Oliver (2008): The Attraction of Neuro-Art-History: Getting at Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman (The Dallas Lecture). (Online at: [4])
Kampe, Knut K.W. / Frith, Chris D. / Dolan, Raymond J. / Frith, Uta (2001): Reward value of attractiveness and gaze. Nature 413 : 589.
John Onians, Neuroarthistory: From Aristotle and Pliny to Baxandall and Zeki, Yale University Press, 2008.
Zeki, Semir (1999, 2003): Inner Vision. An Exploration of Art and the Brain. Oxford.