About the processes that take place in our minds when we look at a work of art
Seeing means that our eye first images the outside world. This image is then "processed" in our brain. Here, the image is matched with information stored in our brain that shows a similar pattern.
Through this comparison with previous information, we use our entire wealth of experience to understand the present. This helps us to quickly assess whether a situation is favorable or threatening, whether we want to deal with it or not.
This comparison is now carried out using "human intelligence".
Here is an example using a black and white photograph
In this picture we see a woman with a baby carriage, a park landscape with dark areas, a large duck and uninvolved people on the sidelines.
When we call up these elements in our memory, not only is the content itself recalled, but also the emotional and content-related context in which the respective image was stored "back then".
The stronger the emotion was at the time, the better we remember it, the more it comes to the fore when we look at the image.
So one viewer may remember very emotional squeaky duck situations, another person may remember childhood fairy tales with wondrous encounters in the dark forest.
Seeing is therefore always a very individual process that links our personal past with what we see.
What attracts our attention?
Now there is another aspect to this. Our brain wants to guide us safely and successfully through life and involuntarily checks whether what we see fits together and makes "sense".
Things that cannot be classified quickly can be potentially threatening. However, they can also offer the chance of an advantage if we try to understand the situation (whether something is perceived as a threat or an opportunity is certainly often a question of personality).
As a result, our attention latches onto something that doesn't seem to fit and our curiosity is aroused. "Surreal" aspects, small "disturbances" can therefore help us to see.
Art as an invitation
From our point of view, art always aims to go beyond what can be seen immediately when looking at a work of art. A work of art is an invitation to see something new in the seemingly familiar.
If you are interested in delving a little deeper into this topic, here is an excerpt from the introduction to a scientific article to whet your appetite:
Claire O'Callaghan et. al, Conscious Cogn. 2017 January ; 47: 63-74.
Predictions penetrate perception: Converging insights from brain, behavior and disorder
Visual perception is not a passive or exclusively stimulus-driven process. Instead, there is a proactive interplay between incoming stimuli and predictions based on internally generated models, which shapes our conscious perception of the world around us(Bar, 2004; Bullier, 2001; Engel, Fries, & Singer, 2001). This enables our perceptual system to harness a lifetime of experience with the world, leveraging our past to aid our interpretation of the present.
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