Contemporary Experimental Aesthetics: State of the Art Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to provide the reader with a brief overview of several recent person-artifact-context relational models that explain the complex interaction of the processes that underlie an ongoing aesthetic experience with visual art forms. Recent progress towards a comprehensive understanding of these processes has been made possible in large part by experimental approaches that take advantage of recent advances in computer technology and electronic sophistication. To illustrate this point, three experimental techniques at the forefront of the field of experimental aesthetics are highlighted here. They include the investigation of viewers— body postural adjustments to depicted pictorial depth and movement in paintings; the use of hand-held computers known as personal data assistants to record audience members— on-going emotional reactions to live performances of dance; and the contribution of audio tour information to museum visitors— interaction with and aesthetic evaluation of sculptures and paintings. Finally, the eMotion: Mapping Museum Experience project, which has the potential to make a tremendous contribution to the understanding of the complex interaction of factors that contribute to a museum visitor's experience, is described.