Engaging With Art
Do we like great art? It depends.
What makes visual art engaging, and why do we like some works of art but not others? It would be unproductive to ask a person if they like great art. Because the subjective meaning evoked by a piece of art is unique to each individual’s rational and emotional response to the artwork itself, we can view great art but not like it. It’s probably safe to say the Prado Museum in Madrid is filled with great art. Multiple paintings by Velázquez are on display there, including the celebrated Las Meninas. Presumably, if someone likes great art, they will enjoy all the paintings on display. But alas, we are a fickle species, and some particular works are more appealing to us than others.
Art evokes responses from people that encompass more than just visual recognition and analysis. The brain’s visual cortex is naturally involved in viewing art, but researchers at the University of Toronto detected more in a 2014 study. Our anterior temporal lobes get in on the action. This part of the brain integrates visual information about an object with how the object works and functions. This sort of higher-level integration means each person will assign a different functional meaning to what they see.
The research also detected how art stimulates the part of our brain linked to emotions. It is no wonder that two people can…
