Beauty in abstract paintings: Adaptation effects and statistical properties B Mallon, C Redies, G Hayn-Leichsenring |
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Institute of Anatomy I, University Jena School of Medicine, Germany
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| Visual adaptation is a well-known phenomenon, especially for relatively simple image features like shape, color or motion. In recent years, adaptation studies have also employed more complex features. For example, in face perception research, adaptation on gender [Troje et al, 2006, Journal of Vision, 6, 850-857], age [Schweinberger et al, 2010, Vision Research, 50, 2570-2576] and attractiveness [Rhodes et al, 2003, Psychological Science, 14, 558-566] has been demonstrated. Extending such studies, the aim of the present work was to explore whether perception of beauty is subject to short-term influences. As stimuli, we used images of abstract (non-figurative) art to investigate the adaptation to perceived beauty in objects not carrying any semantic content. Results revealed highly significant adaptation effects on perceived beauty. Additionally, we analyzed a variety of statistical features (self-similarity, complexity, anisotropy [Redies et al, 2012, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 7583, 522-531] and color, etc.) for correlations with subjective judgments on beauty in abstract images. We found highly significant correlations for self-similarity and several color measures. Our findings suggest that perception of beauty in abstract artworks can be modulated by short-term exposure to visual stimuli. We emphasize the contribution of self-similarity and color measures for the perception of beauty. |
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