The Influence of Listening to Curatorial Information on Emotions Caused by Artworks, and the Assessment of Contemporary Art by Students. Research in the Space of an Art Gallery

Abstract

The aim of the study conducted in the space of a contemporary art gallery with non-profes sional  participants was to check whether getting familiar with the curator’s description influences the emotional reactions caused by the works and their aesthetic evaluation. Hypotheses according to which the viewers who were given the descriptions assessed contemporary art as more fascinating, more understandable, more like a masterpiece, and more preferable (one that they liked more) than viewers who did not know the descriptions, were confirmed. However, the hypothesis that knowledge of curatorial information increases the appreciation of the beauty of contemporary art was not verified positively. Familiarizing with curatorial descriptions influenced one of the five analysed dimensions of emotional reaction inducedby watching art – emotional valence, increasing positive feelings in the confrontation with artworks. Conclusions from the conducted research are of a basic nature (refer to the results of previous experiments and include proposals for further empirical studies), as well as an applicational one (they can be used, among others, by an art gallery in the education process).