Does appreciation of aesthetics come from upbringing or is it inherent? If it is then what are the corresponding neuronal connections? At what point is beauty perceived? Welcome to neuroesthetics, a study of aesthetics from a neurological point of view. New research indicates that artists have an inherent sense of the spatial schema and other measurable image statistics found in nature, and artists ‘apply these insights’ in their work!
Speaking from the artist’s point of view, we do learn certain spatial rules and applications such as the golden mean and the grid as a part of art study. But what is of interest is the softer learning. I mean this in the sense of conscious-tactile (I’m aware of my bodily sensation of pressure of pencil on paper and the immediate recognition of a line I prefer over one that I don’t when i’m ‘moulding’ the rough drawing.) Any artist will tell you that such learning occurs during those years of constant sketching and drawing. You pick up minuscule bits of information (as feedback from when you’re drawing) that no art school can teach although it’s difficult to verbalize these learnings.
In a charcoal life study for example there are the obvious perspective and foreshortening errors that we consciously correct. There are other decisions we make but there are split-second decisions and therefore go largely unnoticed when we re-tell or document the process later. An example may be how we choose lines when we scribble out a form. While the art teacher teaches line delineation, we are also learning a subtler skill. We are learning to introduce ‘character’ into the sketch. This occurs through not just recreating natural features of the subject’, but also the body language, facial expression and then something more. Often the more experienced artists are able to catch subtle nuances that beginners can never get.
There was an urban legend floating around Malleshwaram that the cinema hoarding painters near Malleshwaram, Bangalore never taught their chelas how to infuse life into the painting until he is completely initiated. The legend is that the guru then teaches the chela how to paint the iris and get the character to literally look into you.
The Institute of Neuroesthetics has some papers on the subject.
