Wall art not only expresses your personality, your character, functioning as a stylistic statement in your home but can also improve your mental and emotional well-being. Strongly underestimated but widely studied scientifically is the healing power of visual arts. Colours, forms, shapes, and their compositions have a positive impact on your health and brain function when chosen wisely. This knowledge is applied in the medical field, art therapy, interior design, and marketing.
Artistic Harmony in History: The Golden Ratio
Theories about the healing power of art are by no means merely a modern phenomenon. For instance, ancient Greece brought forth the mathematical knowledge about the divine ratio, which was applied in art and architecture. This balanced proportion also called the “Golden Ratio” was thought to have a positive impact on the human psyche: Exposing oneself to external harmony was meant to restore the inner wellbeing of the viewer. The principle was revived during the Renaissance and is still a guiding principle for artists and designers to make us feel comfortable today.
Art Appreciation, the Nervous System, and the Healing Power of Art
An increasing amount of scientific evidence shows that both creating art and appreciating art changes the brain wave patterns, the nervous system, and your emotions. In the process of looking at a piece of art you like, levels of the hormone serotonin rise which can stabilize your mood, feelings, well-being, and increase happiness. The hormone impacts the entire body and enables the brain cells to communicate with other cells of the nervous system. We feel enhanced, sleep more soundly, and can better enjoy our daily lives.
Aesthetical Experiencing
Recent studies hypothesize that pleasure in the reception of visual art relies largely upon the enjoyment one encounters when aesthetically experiencing and judging a piece of art. If aesthetically pleasing, such an experience will lead to a pleasant and rewarding emotion. Generally, how we receive art is strongly determined by what is shown in the picture, the “valence of the artwork”. Even if a piece of art includes an emotional stimulus that might be connotated negatively, such an impact is perceived to be fictional and outside of the viewers own reality, so that emotions can be regulated accordingly.
Therefore, the viewer does not necessarily relate to the artist’s emotional state he was in during the process of creating the piece of art. For instance, we know that Vincent van Gogh suffered from mental illness, going through emotional pain during his artistically most productive period. Contrary, many people feel uplifted looking at his bright sunflower paintings or the sparkling starry nights. Mark Rothko’s later paintings in which he uses a darker colouration, lots of blacks and greys, have been read as suicide notes. Notwithstanding, many people experience a sense of calmness and peacefulness when looking at his colourfield paintings. Jackson Pollock largely refrained from using evocative titles for his paintings, pertaining to simply numbering them. He did so since he did not want viewers to be influenced by his own interpretation, making the impact purer, more neutral.
These examples show that experiencing a piece of art is highly personal. When choosing a piece of art for your home, the first consideration therefore should be if it is pleasing to you and your family and if you can emotionally connect to it, giving you an uplifting experience. Secondary are spacial reflections and principles of interior design.
Art Psychology and its Usage
The scientific knowledge about art experiencing is used in psychology extensively. In marketing psychology, cognitive psychological research helps to better understand how to effectively use visuals to convince leads. Coloured visuals and images have proven to increase people’s desire to read content, generate more backlinks and posts than another form of content. After looking at attractive visuals, people are approximately 90 per cent more likely to buy a product. In the medical area, art therapy is used to lead patients to better deal with a wide array of conditions, reduce symptoms including stress levels and anxiety, as well as heightening motivation. Therapeutical approaches of art therapy include both involving patients in classical artistic techniques such as painting, sculpture, and complimentary plastic arts, and in art appreciation. Experts have discovered that painting and looking at pieces of art in the therapeutic context allows the release of endorphins, the hormones that provide the feeling of well-being, and dopamine, the hormone that gives the emotion of reward.
Colours and Emotions
Colour psychology examines the effects of colours on people and is taken very seriously in the design of medical facilities and in marketing. Colours are said to have an impact on the nervous system, causing changes in mood, enticing certain actions, or promoting peace and calm. For example, yellow is widely used in hospitals. Being bright and cheerful is said to inspire creativity and invigorating. Green is considered restful, symbolizing renewal and growth. While red is the most stimulating colour, strengthening vitality and energy, orange is said to radiate warmth and a sense of joy and is often applied in children’s wards. Blue is said to increase serenity and peacefulness and even known to lower blood pressure and heart rate. The interaction of colours and emotions is a fascinating field that plays a major role in the study of the impact of art on the nervous system.
Conclusion: Art Heals
Given the extensive impact that pictures can have on our psyche and physical wellbeing, the significance of art in your home is evident. Gazing upon beautiful art, work that is whole in itself and balanced, we can experience the refinement of body and soul. Choose art that you resonate with, that you can connect to for enhancing the beauty of your home and for an everyday uplifting experience.
Recommended Reading:
June McLeod (2016): Colour Psychology Today
Karen Haller (2019): The Little Book of Colour: How to Use the Psychology of Colour to Transform Your Life
Barbara Ganim (2013): Art and Healing: Using Expressive Art to Heal Your Body, Mind, and Spirit
Leah Guzman ATR-BC (2020): Essential Art Therapy Exercises: Effective Techniques to Manage Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD
Want to be your own therapist? Try a Self-Therapy Journal!
You might also enjoy reading the following posts by Pigment Pool:
How to Choose Wall Art for Your Home: More than Decorating
Why Abstract Art is good for Us: Abstract Art and the Brain