BILLED-KUNST I PSYKOLOGISK BELYSNING

Abstract

What makes a picture a work of art? We have no difficulty differentiating between works of pictorial art and other kinds of pictures such as illustrations, advertisements, press and family photos, but are we able to define the significant difference? The author assumes that there is no defining visual criteria of art. What makes it easy to identify a work of art is the extraneous information such as the use of oil paint, the artistic style, and the institutional context in which a work of art is presented. Three different psychological theories ofvisual beauty, artistic originality, and visual expression are discussed in order to demonstrate that none of these characteristics constitute a significant criteria of art. Finally, the aesthetic experience as a constituting factor of emotional life is pointed out as being instrumental in bringing about the defining difference between a work of art and pictures in general.