Vidsketch: Hand-drawn sketch-driven video generation with diffusion control.

Communicating research to the public is an important part of the scientific process, but to do so effectively, we must engage nonscientist audiences so they are interested in hearing about our discipline and how our insights have relevance in today's world. One way to capture public imagination is through the visual arts. This paper describes an arts-based approach that communicated paleopathological research to public audiences. One paleopathologist/bioarchaeologist whose research area is Peru and one professional artist who fabricates cloisonné objects. The artist and researcher pair collaborated over a nine-month period. The finished pieces were displayed to various audiences through multiple gallery events. The pair was present at each event to discuss the research and art and answer questions. Paleopathogical research was translated into a suite of cloisonné jewelry that pays homage to Moche art, illustrates the process of excavation and skeletal analysis, and communicates findings such as traumatic injuries, trepanation, and developmental conditions. The art engaged viewers and furnished a starting point for dialog, giving them an interactive opportunity to learn about paleopathology. This arts-based form of science communication made paleopathology accessible to audiences who generally do not attend our conferences or read our peer-reviewed publications. This project was a single arts-based form of science communication that was qualitatively assessed as successful. As we begin the next 50 years, paleopathologists should engage creatively with public audiences to communicate research findings, and objectively assess outreach activities to evaluate their effectiveness.

Abstract: In a video interview with Journal of Singing associate editor Melissa Treinkman on August 13, 2025, Duke Kim spoke about his evolution from apprentice to professional artist, offering thoughtful reflections on technique, artistry, and navigating the pressures of a major opera career. A QR code is included at the end of the article, which contains the link to the recorded interview with Duke Kim, posted on the NATS YouTube channel.

The article explores the theatricality of Russian folk dance and the principles of its formation within the choreographic culture of Russia. The aim of the research is to identify the fundamental principles underlying the theatricality of Russian folk dance. The article examines the development of Russian folk choreographic culture from its origins to the present day as a professional theatrical art form. The scientific novelty of the study lies in examining the historical evolutionary path of Russian folk dance, from its inception to its establishment on the theatrical stage, identifying specific stages in the development of national folk choreography as a professional art. The findings, based on the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships, indicate that Russian folk dance – inherently theatrical in nature – gradually absorbed the characteristics of performing arts throughout its long developmental history. This process led to a shift in the focus of the dramaturgy, vocabulary, choreographic patterns, and formations of folk dance; consequently, Russian dance as a whole began to be structured within the stage space based on theatrical principles.

Abstract Background Patients with depressive disorder (DD) often exhibit persistent low mood, impaired emotional regulation, and diminished self-efficacy. These psychological deficits not only exacerbate symptoms but also compromise treatment adherence and rehabilitation outcomes. In recent years, art-based interventions have gained increasing attention. Craft Art Creation (CAC), which emphasizes tactile engagement with materials, aesthetic experiences, and participatory processes, is considered potentially effective in promoting emotional relief and restoration of self-worth. However, systematic evidence regarding CAC’s therapeutic effects on DD remains limited, particularly concerning how it influences emotional regulation mechanisms, alters self-efficacy, and whether these factors interact to improve symptoms. This study aims to evaluate the impact of CAC on emotional regulation and self-efficacy in DD patients, while exploring the underlying mechanisms through which these factors contribute to symptom improvement. Methods This study enrolled 198 patients with depression (DD) who had received professional diagnosis, randomly assigned to either the CAC intervention group (n = 128) or the conventional psychoeducation control group (n = 70). The CAC program, conducted twice weekly over 10 weeks, involved tasks guided by professional art therapists, including material selection, texture exploration, design creation, and artwork presentation. Assessments included the Emotion Regulation Ability Score (ERAS), Self-Efficacy Level (SEL), and depression symptom scores. Measurements were taken before intervention, at the intervention conclusion, and during a 6-week follow-up. A mixed-effects model was used to analyze group differences, with path analysis examining the mediating effects of emotion regulation and self-efficacy. Results Experimental results demonstrated that the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) score in the CAC intervention group increased by approximately 39% at the end of the intervention period compared to baseline, significantly higher than the 14% improvement observed in the conventional psychological education control group (p=.003). The Self-Efficacy Level (SEL) in the CAC group rose by 36%, while the control group showed only a 11% increase, with statistically significant differences (p=.005). Depression symptom scores decreased by 41% in the CAC group and 18% in the control group (p<.001). Follow-up data revealed that the 34% symptom reduction in the CAC group persisted for 6 weeks, compared to only 10% in the control group (p=.006). Path analysis indicated that self-efficacy enhancement played a primary mediating role in depression symptom improvement (path coefficient: -0.52, p=.01), while improved emotional regulation also demonstrated significant predictive value (path coefficient: -0.44, p=.02). Additionally, participants with higher work completion rates exhibited more stable emotional states and greater psychological engagement during follow-up, suggesting that creative participation enhanced intervention effectiveness (p=.02). Discussion Crafts-based interventions provide an effective pathway for depression management, demonstrating significant effects in enhancing emotional regulation, boosting self-efficacy, and alleviating depressive symptoms. This efficacy may stem from the positive psychological effects generated by the synergistic interaction of aesthetic engagement, tactile experiences, and creative mastery. Future studies could integrate extended-term creative interventions with multimodal emotional assessment techniques to further validate the long-term benefits and mechanistic stability of arts and crafts in depression rehabilitation.

Abstract Background Music therapy is a relatively effective non pharmacological intervention in the fields of psychiatry and mental health. Traditional music therapy often focuses on listening or free expression modes. But in recent years, research has begun to focus on the psychological therapeutic potential contained in the training of specific ethnic musical instrument performance skills. The horsehead fiddle is the most representative ethnic musical instrument in Inner Mongolia. Its unique tone and playing style carry rich emotional connotations and have a certain guiding effect on the emotional projection of performers. The research aims to explore the emotional expression and psychological intervention effects of horsehead fiddle performance music teaching practice on college students majoring in this field, providing a practical path for the integration of ethnic instrument teaching and mental health. Methods The study selected 60 third year college students majoring in horsehead fiddle from an art college in Inner Mongolia as the research subjects. All students gave informed consent and were randomly divided into two groups. The intervention group (n = 30) received a 12 week emotional oriented horsehead fiddle teaching practice, which focused on the analysis of emotional themed repertoire, emotional expression techniques in improvisation, and emotional sharing and discussion after performance. The control group (n = 30) received traditional technical horsehead fiddle teaching with the same class hours and repertoire, focusing on performance techniques and standard musical performance. After the intervention, psychological health assessment was conducted using the Performance Anxiety Inventory (PAI), Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), Emotional Expression Questionnaire (EEQ), and Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R). Results After the experiment, the average EEQ score of the intervention group increased to 4.18 ± 0.52 points, significantly higher than the control group's 3.35 ± 0.68 points (p<.05). In terms of alleviating performance anxiety, the intervention group's PAI decreased by an average of 7.51 ± 2.10 points, while the control group only decreased by 2.30 ± 1.95 points, and the difference was statistically significant (p<.05). At the same time, the BDI-II score of the intervention group decreased by an average of 5.88 points, while the control group only decreased by 1.15 points, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p<.05). In addition, the total score of SCL-90-R in the intervention group decreased by an average of 10.85 ± 3.20 points, while the control group only decreased by 4.12 ± 2.55 points (p<.05), which proves that emotion oriented horsehead fiddle teaching practice can alleviate the psychological distress of professional students through positive emotional expression and guidance. Discussion Integrating emotional expression training into the teaching practice of horsehead fiddle majors in Inner Mongolia can significantly enhance students' emotional expression ability and effectively alleviate their performance anxiety and depression symptoms, with positive psychological intervention value. The combination of ethnic musical instruments and spiritual therapy concepts provides a new path for psychological health support in professional art education. Subsequent research will design long-term follow-up studies to verify the effectiveness of this emotion oriented teaching practice in maintaining individuals' long-term mental health.

Abstract Background Bipolar disorder is a complex mental illness characterized by alternating high and low moods, often accompanied by severe loss of self-worth and introverted or extroverted aggression during depressive episodes. The current trend of psychotherapy shows that although medication intervention can stabilize emotional baseline, there are still limitations in repairing patients’ social function and psychological resilience. Previous studies have shown that expressive art therapy can provide patients with a safe channel for emotional release. Therefore, based on the concept of art rehabilitation, this study aims to explore the clinical value of digital oil painting as an art form in mental rehabilitation. This study has profound practical significance for improving the adjuvant therapy pathway for bipolar disorder. Methods The study screened a total of 90 patients with bipolar disorder who were in the stage of depression or stable mood. According to the random number table method, they were divided into an experimental group (45 people) and a control group (45 people). The control group maintained standard antipsychotic medication treatment and routine work and entertainment activities. The experimental group conducted a 12 week digital oil painting training intervention based on this. The intervention frequency is twice a week, requiring 90 minutes of training each time. The training content is designed by professional art therapists in collaboration with psychiatrists, including advanced training from simple geometric patterns to complex landscape imagery. The study used multiple clinical scales for double-blind evaluation before and after intervention, including Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), General Self Efficacy Scale (GSES), and Modified Over Aggression Scale (MOAS). Results The experimental results showed that the HAMD-17 score of the experimental group decreased from 21.45 points before intervention to 11.32 points. The score of the control group was not significantly different from that of the experimental group before intervention, and the score after intervention was as high as 17.85 points, significantly higher than that of the experimental group (p<.05). Structured painting can significantly reduce the burden of depression. At the same time, the GSES score of the experimental group increased from 18.64 points to 28.56 points, and the differences within and between groups were statistically significant (p<.05). The instant sense of achievement of digital oil painting effectively enhances patients’ self-control. In addition, the MOAS aggressive behavior score of the experimental group significantly decreased from 8.42 points to 3.15 points, indicating that art intervention has significant statistical significance (p<.05) in calming patients’ easily provoked emotions and impulsive tendencies. Discussion Digital oil painting training, as a new art intervention model, can significantly improve the depressive mood of patients with bipolar disorder. This method has strong operability and low risk, and is suitable for promotion in psychiatric hospitals and community rehabilitation institutions. Future research directions should focus on using functional magnetic resonance imaging technology to observe changes in the activity of the prefrontal cortex and limbic system in patients after intervention, in order to reveal the deep neural mechanisms of art therapy on mood regulation.

The article analyzes the contemporary reconfiguration of aerial gymnastics from feat-centered concatenations to dramaturgically scored compositions in which technique carries narrative meaning. Building on recent work in circus dramaturgy, choreographic method, audience physiology, performer profiling, and injury-risk synthesis, the study argues that recurrent motive families – wraps, climbs, drops, and suspensions – can be organized as image-bearing structures without diluting gymnastic specificity. Compositional agency is attributed to the material frictions between body and apparatus: torsion, drag, deliberate mis/fit, negotiated balance. These frictions are arranged through repetition-with-difference, durational suspensions, and tempo-coded transitions so that conflict, hesitation, and repair unfold as legible arcs rather than as ornamental bridges between highlight tricks. Audience-side measurements from immersive formats indicate segment-wise peaks of synchrony at dramaturgical hinges, providing a feedback-sensitive handle on pacing, cue placement, and the distribution of suspense and release. In parallel, cross-sectional profiles of pre-professional and professional circus artists, together with discipline-specific risk syntheses and return-to-performance pathways, supply operational constraints for casting, rehearsal design, and spacing of high-load elements; narrative intensity is matched to tissue tolerance, prior exposure, and recovery windows. The article proposes a practice-oriented matrix that links motive selection to compositional choices, health parameters, and audience cues, and illustrates its applicability by reading a Jeanne d’Arc creation as a cyclical motive design built from bindings, ascents, and falls. Outcomes include criteria for distributing serial drops and prolonged isometrics across an arc; guidelines for integrating breath, tremor, and micro-failure as evidence rather than defect; and a template for returning motif density when re-staging for different bodies while preserving the same narrative outline. The consolidation of these methods clarifies how risk, virtuosity, and imbalance/repair operate as circus-specific codes of meaning. Taken together, the framework supplies creators and coaches with reproducible procedures for narrative scoring in contemporary aerial work, enabling genre evolution from trick assemblage to image-driven storytelling while sustaining performer longevity and dramaturgical clarity.

Text-driven style transfer methods leveraging diffusion models have shown impressive creativity, yet they still face challenges in maintaining consistent structure and content preservation. Existing methods often directly concatenate the content and style prompts for a prompt-level style injection. However, this coarse-grained style injection strategy inevitably leads to structural deviations in the stylized images. This poses a significant obstacle for professional artists and creators seeking precise artistic editing. In this work, we strive to attain a harmonious balance between content preservation and style transformation. We propose Adaptive Style Incorporation (ASI), to achieve fine-grained feature-level style incorporation. It consists of the Siamese Cross-Attention (SiCA) to decouple the single-track cross-attention to a dual-track structure to obtain separate content and style features, and the Adaptive Content-Style Blending (AdaBlending) module to couple the content and style information from a structure-consistent manner. Experimentally, our method exhibits much better performance in both structure preservation and stylized effects.

Cross-disciplinary, arts-based interventions are gaining recognition for improving palliative care by addressing the complex experiences of patients with life-limiting illnesses. These interventions integrate healthcare, arts, and spiritual care. Despite their acknowledged value, challenges remain regarding the positioning, legitimacy, and autonomy of artistic and spiritual perspectives within academic and clinical settings. This study investigates how executors – researchers, spiritual caregivers (SCers), and professional artists – of the In Search of Stories (ISOS) intervention experienced transdisciplinary collaboration. Focus of the study is on exploring if and how ISOS fostered mutual learning between executors on working with art-based methods, including Rich Pictures (RPs), text-elicitation interviews, and artistic co-creation; or whether practices of boundary work dominate. Data from 21 evaluation interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Mutual learning occurred between artists and SCers on time and agenda management skills, and on the relevance of using arts-based methods in palliative care. SCers framed the artistic co-creation as extending and deepening the outcomes of the RPs and text-elicitation interviews used to visualize and explore patients’ illness experiences. This broadened the scope of supportive care beyond the conventional role of the SCer. Artists and SCers also employed boundary work, as they were protecting the autonomy of their professions against perceived instrumentalization tendencies by researchers. As the arts and spiritual care become more common in healthcare contexts, tensions may emerge between practitioners’ wish for autonomy and the perceived goal-driven nature of medical care and research. To navigate these tensions, developers and implementers of cross-disciplinary collaborations in the medical fields should engage in proactive discussions with practitioners regarding their positioning and legitimacy within existing or emergent research and care frameworks. This ensures that their professional identities are acknowledged and reflected in their work, which may contribute to more equal collaborations in healthcare.

Although everyone has the capacity to draw, only some develop the expertise to produce professional art. Despite extensive creativity research, surprisingly little is known about how years of visual artistic training reshape the neural architecture that distinguishes professional artists from nonartist. To address this gap, we applied joint independent component analysis to detect structural (gray matter volume, white matter fractional anisotropy), and functional (resting-state regional homogeneity), neuroimaging data from 12 professional visual artists and 12 matched controls. This multimodal approach identified a joint gray matter–resting-state regional homogeneity–fractional anisotropy component (Independent Component 2) that significantly distinguished artists from controls (p = .020, d = 1.028). Compared to controls, artists showed coordinated neural adaptations including increased GM in parietal, temporal, frontal regions, and posterior cingulate cortex; enhanced white matter integrity in anterior thalamic radiations, corticospinal tracts, and association fibers; and increased functional homogeneity in basal ganglia and cerebellar structures. Notably, Independent Component 2 expression correlated with higher visual imagery vividness, linking neural adaptations to cognitive abilities fundamental to artistic creation. Taken together, these results highlight the involvement of canonical creativity networks (default mode network–executive control network) while also extending them to include domain-specific adaptations in cerebellar, sensorimotor, and subcortical systems. Despite these advances, replication with larger samples is necessary.

This study explores the dynamic relationship between studio management and creative productivity in fine arts practices. It investigates how spatial organisation, workflow design, time management, and social collaboration influence artists’ capacity for sustained creativity. Drawing on Creative Process Theory, Organisational Management Theory, and Sociocultural Theory, the research conceptualises the artist’s studio as both a material and symbolic site of production—where managerial order and creative spontaneity interact. Using a qualitative multiple case study approach, data were gathered from in-depth interviews, studio observations, and document analyses involving professional and academic artists. Thematic analysis revealed that effective studio management enhances focus, minimises creative block, and fosters self-regulation, while excessive rigidity may constrain experimentation. The findings highlight the need for balance between structure and autonomy, situating management as a creative act in itself. The study concludes that developing managerial awareness within artistic education and practice contributes to sustainable creativity, professional efficiency, and the evolution of contemporary studio cultures. Keywords: studio management, creative productivity, fine arts, creative process, qualitative research, art practice

Cultivating culturally sustaining practices and beliefs is a complex process. For early-career teaching artists (i.e., professional artists who teach), it raises ontological and epistemological questions about knowledge, art, and identity in the communities where they teach. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how teaching in a multigenerational, culturally sustaining setting promoted early-career teaching artists’ onto-epistemic explorations about (a) teaching and learning and (b) community engagement. Drawing from conceptual perspectives of culturally sustaining pedagogy and the dynamic systems model of role identity, findings suggest that teaching artists’ onto-epistemic beliefs emerged in dynamic dialogue with the culturally sustaining setting, situated in a broader sociopolitical context. Implications for practice and research on the preparation of culturally sustaining teaching artists are offered.

This study explores how digital comic application interfaces affect reader comprehension, cognitive processing, and narrative engagement. As comic reading transitions from print to digital platforms, app-based interfaces such as full-page multi-panel layouts, guided view sequences, and single-frame scrolling fundamentally reshape the reader’s narrative experience. This research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining a general survey ( N = 84), a controlled reading experiment ( N = 24), and interviews with five professional comic artists to examine how different interface designs influence readers’ visual narrative processing. Participants read identical comic content through three distinct interface modes, followed by immediate recall tasks and engagement assessments using the User Engagement Scale (UES). Visual Language Fluency Index (VLFI) scores were used to analyze individual differences in cognitive processing. Results indicate that guided view interfaces significantly enhance narrative recall and emotional engagement among readers with lower visual language fluency, while higher-fluency readers preferred full-page layouts for their flexibility and richer visual context. The single-frame format was found to simplify comprehension in complex narratives but reduce perceived esthetic satisfaction. Interviews with comic artists further revealed that app interfaces influence not only readers but also creative practices, particularly in pacing, panel composition, and the use of visual cues. The study concludes that interface design is not a passive vessel but an active agent in shaping digital reading cognition and experience. These findings have implications for digital literacy, interface usability, and the evolving storytelling strategies in digital comic media.

Füreya Koral (1910–1997), recognized as the first professional female ceramic artist in Turkey, approached contemporary ceramics not merely as decorative elements but as integral components of spatial identity and user experience. Her pioneering vision led to the widespread incorporation of ceramics into both architectural and interior design practices across Turkey. She produced large-scale ceramic panels for diverse interior environments including public institutions, hotels, marketplaces, and universities. Although existing literature extensively addresses Koral’s biography and artistic production within the fields of fine arts, architecture and ceramic arts, this study seeks to explore, for the first time, the contribution of her ceramic works to the spatial configuration of interiors through the lens of user perception and experience. Emphasizing the human-space relationship—one of the core dimensions of interior architecture—this research investigates how ceramics function as experiential and identity-forming design elements within interior settings.

This study identifies and distinguishes the terminological concepts of Gisaeng (妓) and Changgi (娼) as they appear in Korea’s first modern newspapers, [Hanseong Sunbo] and [Hanseong Weekly], in order to clarify the characteristics and status of Gisaeng (妓) and Changgi (娼) in the modern newspapers of the period. First, the first professional artist Gisaeng (妓) to appear in Korea’s newspaper is Hwaseon (花仙) from Tongyeong, and she was recorded in the [Hanseong Weekly] issue of March 21, 1887. The first traditional artist Gisaeng (妓) to appear in Korea’s official historical record is Woljeonghwa (月精花) from Jinju, and she was noted in [Goryeosa] between 1046 and 1083, during the reign of King Munjong of Goryeo. These Gisaeng (妓) were from local regions rather than the capital area. Second, the professional performer Gisaeng (妓) did not appear in the [Hanseong Sunbo] issues from October 1883 to October 1884. Instead, 娼 婦, 娼妓, and 醜妓 first appeared in those issues as the professional prostitute Changgi (娼). According to the articles from those issues, 娼婦 refers to Chinese Changbu (娼婦) as prostitute, 娼妓 refers to British Changgi (娼妓) as prostitute, and 醜妓 refers to Chinese Changgi (娼妓) as ugly prostitute. Third, 優娼, 賣娼婦, 藝娼妓, 娼籍, 娼寮, and 妓 appear in the issues of [Hanseong Weekly] from January 1886 to March 1888 as professional prostitute and entertainer prostitute. The word, 娼, in 優娼 refers to Chinese Changgi (娼妓) as prostitute and entertainer prostitute, 賣娼婦 refers to Japanese prostitute (賣 春婦), 藝娼妓 refers to Japanese entertainer prostitute (藝娼妓), and 娼籍, 娼寮, and 妓 refer to young Chinese Changgi (娼妓) as professional prostitute. In addition, the term, 妓館, appeared for the first time in those issues, but at present, it is difficult to determine its exact characteristics. Lastly, the term, 妓生, was first used in Korea’s official historical record in the first article from the March 6, 1511 issue of [Annals of King Jungjong]. According to the original text, the name of Gisaeng (妓生) is Sochunhwa (笑春花). However, in the translated edition of [Annals of the Joseon Dynasty], Gisaeng Sochunhwa (笑春花) is mistranslated as Gisaeng Sochunpung (笑春風). Such mistranslation should be corrected, and citations must be handled carefully. In historical studies, cross-checking the original text is indispensable when citing the translated edition.

The development of artificial intelligence has led to new opportunities to create art critique that is coherent and reacting to context to produce the mimic depth of analysis of humans. The current paper is an in-depth machine learning system that can generate structured, interpretive, and stylistically rich art reviews through the application of state-of-the-art visual comprehension and natural language generation. The suggested system is a combination of the convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and Vision Transformers (ViTs) to extract fine-grained visual evidence, which consists of composition, texture, color harmony, and stylistic cues and fuses them with contextual metadata like the artist background, historical period, and indicative pointers. Multimodal fusion module coordinates these different representations and then sends them to a transformer-based critique generator that is able to generate descriptive, interpretive, comparative, and evaluative text. In order to justify this framework, we assemble a heterogeneous dataset comprising of high-resolution art photographs and professional cura corpora of museums, scholarly publications, and of professional art reviews. The subtle aesthetic judgment and interpretive reference that is lost in technical judgments and lexical richness are made in the form of expert-in-the-loop annotations which are culturally sensitive. The preprocessing methods such as augmentation, normalization, and de-biasing are used to enhance the robustness of the model and minimize the skew in the style. Experiments indicate that, multimodal conditioning greatly increases specificity of critique and conceptual grounding in comparison with vision or text only baselines.

The study aims to conceptualize the processes of renewing academic traditions in contemporary art education, particularly within the system of training painters in the fields of painting and color theory. The central focus lies on the question of how to integrate the classical school of realistic painting with new pedagogical and digital approaches that shape the mindset of the twenty-first-century artist. To achieve this goal, the research employs a comparative analysis of traditional and modern painting techniques, methods of systemic and structural analysis, as well as observation of instructional processes in professional art education. The analysis demonstrates that the academic school remains the foundation of artistic training, although its content and forms are gradually evolving. Contemporary curricula combine exercises from nature, the copying of classical models, and the use of digital technologies: interactive palettes, computer-based color simulations, and multimedia platforms. Technical mastery no longer exists in isolation; it becomes a means of fostering creative thinking and the ability to visualize ideas across various media. Color theory, which was traditionally regarded as a craftoriented discipline, is transforming into an intellectual tool for shaping artistic vision. It has been established that the transformation of academic traditions does not undermine them but expands their scope: new project-based methodologies, integrated courses, and hybrid teaching formats are emerging. Academicism functions not as a constraint but as the core around which a new system of art education is being developed—one that is open to innovation yet rooted in classical culture. Thus, academic methods retain their pedagogical value but require reinterpretation in light of digitalization, the evolution of artistic media, and the growing influence of the creative economy. An effective model of art education must be grounded in the synthesis of the traditional school and contemporary technological possibilities, enabling the formation of a new type of artist—technically proficient, conceptually flexible, and culturally aware. The results of this study may be useful for educators in higher art institutions, developers of educational programs, curators of artistic projects, and students working to integrate classical techniques with modern means of artistic expression.

The article examines the transformation of the role of professional art and music critics in North America and Europe from the 1980s to the 2020s within the broader context of the emergence of a participatory culture. The study outlines the problem of critics maintaining their status as gatekeepers in the era of mass-media models and identifies the main directions of change under the influence of digital technologies and social networks. It demonstrates that in the 1980s critics acted as arbiters of taste and legitimizers of cultural phenomena, shaping the canon and the agenda in art and music. The article analyzes the developments of the 1990s–2000s, when the spread of the Internet, blogs, and file-sharing networks undermined the critics’ monopoly, while amateurs and fan communities acquired a prominent role in public discussions of cultural products. It is noted that in the 2010s–2020s the focus shifted to influencers and online bloggers, whose recommendations often have greater impact than traditional reviews. Particular attention is paid to the influence of digital technologies and the algorithms of social platforms, which have become the new gatekeepers of cultural space. The study also examines the cultural, media, and sociological dimensions of the transformation of criticism: the democratization of the cultural field, the decentralization of information structures, the erosion of automatic trust in experts, and the emergence of new forms of social capital. The conclusion emphasizes that the role of critics has not disappeared but has been transformed: from authoritative judges they have evolved into moderators, navigators, and curators of cultural dialogue, helping audiences orient themselves within an oversaturated information environment.

In the past, people with a lot of experience judged the beauty of fine arts by looking at them in the context of their deep cultural, political, and academic backgrounds. Now that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are getting better, computers can better analyze and group artworks, making it possible to evaluate art in a way that is both scalable and objective. This study suggests a system for classifying styles in fine arts that is based on machine learning and combines both hand-made visual descriptions and deep learning-based feature extraction methods. The study uses a variety of datasets, such as WikiArt, Kaggle art collections, and selected museum records, to make sure that all types and movements of art are covered. To improve the quality of a dataset and lower its noise, preprocessing steps like colour normalization, cutting, and data addition are used. Feature extraction mixes common techniques like colour histograms, edge recognition, and texture analysis with deep features gathered from CNNs like VGGNet, ResNet, and EfficientNet that have already been trained. Transfer learning is used to make models fit the unique features of fine art images, which leads to better classification performance across a wide range of artistic fields. According to the results of experiments, hybrid feature fusion is much better at classifying things than single-method. It also gives us useful information about the visual elements that define different art styles. The suggested method can be used in systems for verifying, collecting, and suggesting art. It fills the gap between computer analysis and human-centered aesthetic judgement. This paper shows how AI could be used to help professional art critics do their jobs better, leading to progress in both computer vision and the fine arts.