The psychology of art is an old subject. Freud used many analogies with art, and was a big fan of Leonardo Da Vinci. Vygotsky used art for catharsis.
But still to this day, psychologists can not pinpoint the exact power of art. One knows the effects of it on the human psyche, but not the mechanisms underlying.

Let us take a deeper look in our brains. Our right hemisphere regulates positive emotion and perception of a whole. The left hemisphere on the other hand stands more for negative emotions and perception of details.

So what happens when we look at art? When we look at a painting, most of us will look at the painting as a whole, thus perception with the right hemisphere, thus also activating more positive emotions.
It is not as simple as that though. Lateralization of our brain can only explain one part of appreciation of art, but not everything. What with negative emotions that art can awaken?

Creativity and emotion. Those are probably the most important things in the field of art therapies.
It has been proven in many cases that art has a healing power on the human mind. Not only art of other people, but also art of our own. Sometimes it is easier to put down emotions through painting or sculpturing, then to say it in words. Art comes from our soul, it is the language of our inner self. It does not matter if you are a great artist, all what matters is your creativity, the play with forms or colors.

Learn more about this author, Veronika Sjinkarenko.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about The effects of art on perception and emotion?
We want to hear your view. Write now!