Beauty and The Brain
A graceful path into the woods on Gaudineer Knob in West Virginia.
How do you feel when you look at a photograph of a loved one, or special place that brings back memories? Do you feel that rush of blood to your brain, that makes you feel warm and secure? It’s pretty obvious that the effects of art on the brain can make us feel good. We put it on our walls so that we can see it everyday, and spend hard earned cash to do so. Sometimes it even appreciates, and we can sell it at a profit. But, I don’t think that’s why the majority of us have art in our lives. No, I believe it’s for the memories, of people, places and things, the times and feelings that enriched our lives, if even for a moment.
As in the 70’s pop hit “The TImes of Your Life” by Paul Anka:
Over the years I’ve been fortunate to put a lot of art, in the form of my photography, into my clients lives. They often tell me how much they appreciate and value having portraits to relive memories of their children as they grow, or just celebrate the beauty of the world with a landscape photograph. Often, I am asked to enhance my clients' office and commercial spaces with my photography, which has become a major part of my business over the past ten years. To see the transformation that a well thought out design of properly framed photographs can have on a formerly mundane space is pretty cool indeed. The effect on office workers is always positive, “it’s like they installed windows! Thank you!” They will also comment on how much more peaceful and pleasant the space is after we’re done. So, this study completed a couple of years ago, which I just discovered, made a lot of sense to me. Professor Semir Zeki, chair in neuroaesthetics at University College London, conducted the experiment.
Keywords:
art,
cheat,
gaudineer,
knob,
landscape,
mountain,
office,
photography,
virginia,
west,
zen
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