Art, in its many forms, has long been humanity’s companion; a way to understand the world, express the inexpressible, and create connections across cultures and time. From the earliest cave paintings to contemporary artworks, art has shaped our minds, our humanity, and our communities. Science today provides new insights into art’s impact, revealing how it profoundly shapes our brains. Through viewing, creating, studying, participating in, or living with art - art remains one of the most transformative experiences available to us.
As an artist, educator, and advocate for accessibility in art, I’ve seen firsthand how art changes people. It always leaves me in awe. Let’s explore this remarkable phenomenon art affords us and how it effects our brains.
Viewing Art: A Feast for the Brain
Picture yourself in front of an original artwork—perhaps Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring or a vibrant Kandinsky. What happens in that moment isn’t just a visual experience, your brain is responding to the art too! Studies show that viewing art activates the brain’s reward centers, eliciting feelings of pleasure and calm. Interacting with art also engages areas of your brain responsible for introspection, memory, and emotional regulation, fostering a profound sense of self-awareness.
Research conducted at the Mauritshuis Museum demonstrated that viewing original artworks stimulated the precuneus, a region of the brain associated with consciousness and identity. This reflective power helps us to consider who we are as individuals and where we fit into the broader human story.
The impact art has on your brain isn’t limited to just historical art in a museum, contemporary art also affects your brain. Contemporary art often challenges viewers to think critically and engage with societal issues, skills that promote cognitive flexibility and empathy. A study in Frontiers in Psychology highlighted that attending art exhibits positively impacted mood and emotional well-being .
These findings illustrate that whether it’s a masterwork in a museum or a modern installation by local artists, viewing art enriches the brain.
Creating Art: Sculpting the Brain
While viewing art changes the brain, creating art has even more profound effects. Research in Cerebral Cortex reveals that engaging in creative activities enhances neuroplasticity, the brain's capacity to continue growing and evolving in response to life's experiences. Making art also improves problem-solving skills, emotional regulation. and activates the reward pathways in your brain that release dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to pleasure and motivation.
Art therapy exemplifies the benefits art has on your brain and how it can help you process your emotions. Studies in The Journal of the American Art Therapy Association show that individuals engaged in art therapy report reduced cortisol levels (a stress marker) and increased emotional clarity. In addition, art activities enhanced fine motor skills, problem-solving, and emotional expression.
For individuals with disabilities, art-making improves motor skills, focus, and mood, and empowers participants to express themselves freely. Programs like Creative Growth highlight how art fosters independence and community, demonstrating art's universal inclusivity.
The benefits of art-making extend to veterans, too. Creating art has become a vital tool for processing trauma and facilitating reintegration into civilian life. Programs such as the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces initiative utilize art therapy to assist veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries. Studies indicate that art-making reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, and hyperarousal, promoting emotional healing and resilience.
Engaging in art-making offers significant cognitive and social benefits for elderly individuals, particularly those experiencing cognitive decline. Research indicates that participation in creative activities can slow cognitive deterioration and enhance memory retention. A study published in The Arts in Psychotherapy found that art-making activities led to improvements in cognitive function among older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
Programs like the Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) Alzheimer's Project have demonstrated the profound impact of art on individuals with dementia. This initiative provided art-making opportunities that helped participants reconnect with their personal histories and express themselves creatively. Reducing feelings of isolation and enhancing social engagement.
A systematic review published in BMJ Open highlighted similar findings--that art-making improved cognitive function in elderly individuals with subjective cognitive decline, suggesting that making art may serve as effective non-pharmacological approach to mitigating cognitive deterioration.
These findings underscore the value of incorporating art-based activities into care plans for the elderly, veterans, and those with disabilities, not only to preserve and strengthen cognitive abilities but to also foster social connections and improve overall quality of life.
Art-making is also deeply beneficial for everyday folks like you and me. It offers a respite from daily stressors and enhances focus. A study published in Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association found that 45 minutes of an art activity can significantly reduce cortisol levels, highlighting art’s capacity to help you de-stress and relax.
An innovative approach to the benefits of art making is Neurographics. Neurographics is a drawing method that combines art and psychology to transform the brain's subconscious patterns. As participants engage with this meditative drawing practice, the process promotes relaxation by calming the amygdala, the brain's center for fear and stress, while stimulating the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with higher-order functions like planning, decision-making, and emotional regulation. When the drawing is finished, it mimics the structures of neural pathways in the brain. Which is pretty cool!
Beyond its stress-relief benefits, Neurographics is also a powerful tool for introspection and problem-solving. By transforming abstract worries or challenges into visual representations, individuals can reframe their perspectives, identify solutions, and tap into their subconscious mind for new insights. Neurographics an appealing practice for anyone, regardless of artistic skill level, and a valuable addition to art therapy practices.
If you want to try Neurographic drawing for yourself, visit my blog post: "Feeling Stressed? Try Neurographics". I take you through the whole practice and include instructions and pictures.
Living with Art: A Daily Brain Boost
Science shows that living with art isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about enriching your environment and your life. Original art offers a unique emotional resonance influencing how we think and feel. When you bring original art into your living spaces, you’re inviting in not just a beautiful object but also inspiration and transformation into your daily life.
The psychological impact of original art is profound. A study published in The Journal of Environmental Psychology found that individuals living with original art reported higher levels of satisfaction and self-expression, indicating that art can serve as a mirror to one’s identity. Another study conducted by the University of Exeter revealed that environments enriched with original art, whether in homes or workplaces, improved productivity, focus, and overall well-being by creating a sense of aesthetic and providing intellectual stimulation.
Research from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley reveals that exposure to art in home environments reduces stress, fosters creativity, and enhances emotional well-being by activating the brain’s pleasure and reward centers. But the impact of living with art goes even deeper: its constant presence shapes the way we think! Living with art promotes curiosity, innovation, and gives us a sense of calm.
When you purchase original art and bring it into your spaces, you engage in a dynamic relationship. Collectors often describe the art in their homes as “alive,” not because it physically changes but because of how it continues to engage them over time. They report that each time they view the art it offers a new discovery. Maybe they see a subtle brushstroke in a detail, a shift in the light that alters a tone, or they have a fresh emotional response tied to a recent experience. This relationship between viewer and artwork is unique to original art. Unlike prints or digital reproductions, original works carry the energy of their creation and the intentions of the artist. Art's ability to engage explains why collectors often describe original art as transformative.
Living with original art is an act of intention. It’s a choice to surround yourself with objects that challenge, comfort, and inspire you. Beyond beautifying your space, bringing original art into your environments cultivates imagination, curiosity, inspiration, and connection. The art you live with becomes a companion to your journey through life and can improve your brain every step of the way.
Participating in Art Events: Social Connectivity
Communal art experiences lead to increased neuroplasticity and the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. This adaptability enhances cognitive flexibility and emotional resilience, contributing to improved mental health.
Art events also foster social connectivity and a sense of belonging, both of which are critical for mental health. Events like gallery exhibitions and art fairs provide opportunities to engage with contemporary art and artists in a shared space, enriching our cultural and social lives. Attending such events stimulates cognitive functions, offering opportunities to learn and grow through cultural engagement.
Art event experiences not only enrich an individual's brains but also strengthen community bonds, highlighting the integral role the arts play in promoting mental health and societal well-being.
Arts Education
A report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Art for Life's Sake: The Case for Arts Education (2021), emphasized the transformative power of arts education, including studying art history. This report found that arts education fosters empathy, reduces intolerance, and builds a stronger sense of community. It argues that understanding art is essential for creating well-rounded individuals who can engage meaningfully with the world around them. That's a pretty strong endorsement for art education!
The Brookings Institution further explored the benefits of arts education in their 2019 study, New Evidence of the Benefits of Arts Education. By analyzing the effects of Houston's Arts Access Initiative, researchers observed that increased exposure to the arts led to improvements in school engagement, writing achievement, and compassion. These findings underscore the far-reaching impact of art on social and emotional development.
On a global scale, UNESCO's Arts Education: An Investment in Quality Learning (2020) revealed how arts education supports academic achievement in unexpected ways. The report highlighted that studying art disciplines improved standardized test scores in math and language while also fostering persistence, a skill necessary to lifelong success. In addition to persistence, feeling, seeing, dreaming, making, and learning, are skills that are also developed when studying art. Skills that are in high demand in our post-industrial era as outlined by Marty Neumeier in his book, Metaskills: Five Talents for the Robotic Age.
A report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education (2021), emphasizes the transformative power of arts education. The study found that engaging with art fosters empathy, reduces intolerance, and builds a stronger sense of community.
In IPaintMyMind’s review of arts education, they reiterate the the strong connection between arts education and improved proficiency in core subjects like reading and writing. The Arts Education Partnership's 2002 report also demonstrated that students involved in arts education programs performed better academically and developed stronger social skills.
There are decade's worth of studies that show how engaging with art and its history enriches both individuals and communities. Proof that understanding art is an integral part of becoming a well-rounded individual capable of engaging meaningfully with the world.
Studying Art History: The Bridge to Understanding
What if we take it a bit further and say that studying art history is of equal importance to any other subject? What could it offer us? I venture to say, and I wouldn't be alone, that it can teach us something about our human-ness. Many anthropologists and social scientists point to the moment our ancestors first created art as the moment we became "human". Tens of thousands of years ago, our human ancestors painted animals, people, and abstract symbols onto cave walls. Ancient expressions of identity, beliefs, and most importantly, stories. This was the dawn of abstract thought and creativity.
Art history also begins here. At the dawn of abstract thought and creativity in the caves of Lascaux and Chauvet, where we find those first sparks of human ingenuity. Anthropologist Agustín Fuentes, in The Creative Spark, argues that the creation of art was a defining feature of human evolution. Early humans began to use art to communicate, form social bonds, and collaborate, giving them an edge over other species. Art laid the foundation for shared understanding, empathy, and cultural cohesion.
Studying art history allows us to connect with this foundational aspect of our species. It’s not just about memorizing dates and styles! It’s about exploring the breath of art and what it reveals about the people who made it, and the time that they lived in. Art history, “Covers virtually every aspect of human history and experience,” says The Courtauld Institute of Art.
The University of Chicago's Department of Art History notes that art history offers tools and vocabulary to develop skills in visual analysis, interpretation, and critical thinking. Skills that are imperative for interpreting the culture that surrounds us. By analyzing and learning about paintings, sculptures, and other art-forms, we expand our visual literacy, enhancing our awareness. Which ultimately leads to a deeper appreciation for the diverse narratives that have shaped human existence.
Art, in all its forms, serves as a profound reflection of us. It helps us bridge the gap between individual experiences and collective understanding. Whether we are viewing a masterpiece, shaping a piece of clay, studying the works of the past, living with art in our homes, or participating in community art events, art has the unique ability to enrich our lives in ways both tangible and intangible. It stimulates our minds, enhances cognitive function, and reduces stress. It fosters emotional growth, connects us to the broader human story, and expands our empathy within our communities. It is, without question, a transformative force
Art is not just a luxury or a decoration—it is essential. It is woven into the fabric of what makes us human and elevates our everyday lives into something extraordinary. In its ability to inspire, heal, and connect, art is a testament to the resilience and brilliance of the human spirit. It is, quite simply, what makes life wonderful.
References
Psychology Today. "Viewing Art and the Brain’s Reward Centers."
My Modern Met. "The Brain's Response to Viewing Art."
Frontiers in Psychology. "Effects of Immersive Art Exhibits on Emotional Well-Being."
van Leeuwen, Theo, et al. "Neuroplasticity and the Impact of Creative Activities on the Brain." Cerebral Cortex 28, no. 5 (2018): 2341–53.
Kaimal, Girija, Kendra Ray, and Juan Muniz. "Reduction of Cortisol Levels Following Art Making." Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association 33, no. 2 (2016): 74–80.
National Endowment for the Arts. "The Benefits of Art Education."
Malchiodi, Cathy A. Handbook of Art Therapy. New York: Guilford Press, 2003.
Creative Forces, National Endowment for the Arts. "Creative Forces: Military Healing Arts Network."
The Arts in Psychotherapy. "Art Therapy and Cognitive Function in Older Adults."
Museum of Modern Art. "Alzheimer’s Project: Art Programs for Dementia Patients."
BMJ Open. "Systematic Review of Art Therapies for Elderly Cognitive Function."
Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley. "How Art Reduces Stress."
The Journal of Environmental Psychology. "Psychological Impact of Living with Art."
University of Exeter. "Art Environments Improve Productivity and Well-Being."
Brain Facts. "Social Benefits of Participating in Art Events."
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education. 2021.
Brookings Institution. New Evidence of the Benefits of Arts Education. 2019.
UNESCO. Arts Education: An Investment in Quality Learning. 2020.
Smithsonian Magazine. "The Creative Spark: Art and Human Evolution."
Top Universities. "Studying Art History: Insights from the Courtauld Institute."
University of Chicago. "Art History: Visual Analysis and Cultural Understanding."
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Linda, beautiful and thought provoking as always. Happy Holidays! John