I recently finished reading The Art Instinct – Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution, by Denis Dutton. I started reading it a second time almost immediately after finishing it the first time. Dutton asserts that art is in our genes, that there is an inherited desire to create and an inherited appreciation for those that create well. Painting, sculpture, writing, acting, are all included, though I didn’t see photography specifically mentioned (I must write him). I appreciated this line in the introduction – “As objects of feeling, works of art provide some of the most profound, emotionally moving experiences available to human beings”.
In chapter 1, Landscape and Longing, Dutton describes the work of Komar and Melamid in which they study artistic preferences of peoples in ten countries. Although the study was based on paintings, the application to all color 2-D work is clear. Some interesting conclusions:
- people in almost all nations disliked abstract designs
- the colors gold, orange, yellow and teal were commonly despised
- paintings of a landscape with water, people, and animals were most wanted by far
- blue is the most favored color, nothing else is close
These represent inherent likes and dislikes. I have long concluded that although I enjoy greatly doing more abstract pieces, they are for a smaller audience.
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