The brain of the beholder: differences in brain activity and likability ratings in response to works of art and commercial paintings.

This study explores how individuals perceive and respond to different types of visual art, particularly in terms of attention and emotional engagement. Art, whether created professionally for art galleries or commercially for mass consumption, can elicit diverse reactions depending on its complexity and intent. This research examines the differences in the brain's electrophysiological responses and likability ratings when viewing professional artworks (created for artistic expression) versus commercial paintings (created for profit). Using electroencephalography, participants' responses were recorded to images of abstract paints from the collections of museums (professional art) and images from the "Paintings" page of the online handicraft marketplace Etsy (commercial art). Two key event-related potential components were analyzed: the early posterior negativity (EPN), associated with attention, and the late positive potential (LPP), linked to emotional engagement. Likeability of each painting was rated on a 7-point likert-scale. The results showed that participants rated commercial paintings higher in likability and exhibited stronger LPP responses to them, indicating a greater emotional response. An additional detail is that the LPP difference between commercial and professional art shows a lateralization to the left hemisphere. Furthermore, and unexpectedly, the EPN is stronger for professional art. To confirm this surprising finding, this effect was replicated in a follow-up study. These results point to a distinct difference between how commercial and professional art is appreciated, though the process from perception to evaluation might be different and more complex than initially expected.