Effects of Context and Genuineness in the Experience of Art. (July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Grüner, Susanne; Specker, Eva; Leder, Helmut
• Is Part Of: Empirical studies of the arts. Volume 37:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 138
• Page End: 152
• Publication Date: 2019-07
• Subjects: museum study -- style -- original -- reproduction -- painting -- art appreciation -- art evaluation; Arts -- Periodicals; 700.5
• DOI: 10.1177/0276237418822896
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0276-2374

Abstract

Studies found that genuine artworks viewed in a museum receive higher appreciation ratings than reproductions in the laboratory. Due to the mutual variation of context and genuineness, these studies were not able to disentangle these factors. A study designed by Brieber, Leder, and Nadal to systematically differentiate between these two variables did not find an effect of context or genuineness. To substantiate these results, we setup a conceptual replication by using the same 2 (museum/laboratory) by 2 (genuine/reproduction) between-subjects design with improved manipulations of context and genuineness. We found an effect of context, as artworks presented in a museum were liked more and rated more interesting than in the laboratory. We did not find effects of genuineness. Exploratively, we found that art style had a big impact on how artworks were rated regardless of context and genuineness, indicating that this may be a more important factor for aesthetic experience.