@inbook{42f3907aa3bc43d39035099adce93650,
title = "Perception of emotion in abstract artworks: A multidisciplinary approach",
abstract = "There is a long-standing and fundamental debate regarding how emotion can be expressed by fine art. Some artists and theorists have claimed that certain features of paintings, such as color, line, form, and composition, can consistently express an {"}objective{"} emotion, while others have argued that emotion perception is subjective and depends more on expertise of the observer. Here, we discuss two studies in which we have found evidence for consistency in observer ratings of emotion for abstract artworks. We have developed a stimulus set of abstract art images to test emotional priming, both between different painting images and between paintings and faces. The ratings were also used in a computational vision analysis of the visual features underlying emotion expression. Overall, these findings suggest that there is a strong bottom-up and objective aspect to perception of emotion in abstract artworks that may tap into basic visual mechanisms.",
keywords = "Abstract art, Art and neuroscience, Computer vision, Emotion, Neuroaesthetics, Visual art, Visual perception",
author = "David Melcher and Francesca Bacci",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio Trento-Rovereto (Caritro), the city of Rovereto (Assessorato alla Contemporaneit{\`a}, Comune di Rovereto), the MART (Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto), and the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC).",
year = "2013",
doi = "10.1016/B978-0-444-63287-6.00010-5",
language = "English (US)",
series = "Progress in Brain Research",
publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",
pages = "191--216",
booktitle = "Progress in Brain Research",
}