Embodied cognition claims that the way we move our body is central for experience. Exploring dimensions of bodily engagement should therefore also be central for understanding the experience of viewing and evaluating art. However, in both laboratory and in more ecologically-valid gallery studies, little attention has been paid to the actual ways viewers move in front of art—where they stand, how they approach or shift positions—and how this impacts their experiences. This paper aims to close this gap by demonstrating a new paradigm in a gallery-like setting, in which we tracked movements of participants that engaged an abstract artwork via infrared cameras. We also captured their viewing behavior via mobile eye tracking and collected self-reported art appraisals, cognitive and emotional phenomenal factors, as well as subjective awareness of their bodies and physical engagement. Via correlational analysis, based on a theoretical review of past literature and arguments regarding compelling movement aspects, we consider the relation of a broad range of objective and subjective movement aspects to reported art experiences. We also—for the first time—define basic, shared patterns of global movement that could be related to different art appraisals and emotional experiences employing a bottom-up statistical analysis using principal component and cluster analyses. As a proof-of-concept paper we identify the importance and explanatory advantages of our approach both for a more embodied, enactive understanding of art engagements, and as a practical guideline for future empirical aesthetics, art, and museum research.

Embodied cognition claims that how we move our body is central for experience. Exploring dimensions of bodily engagement should, therefore, also be central for engaging art. However, little attention has been paid to the actual ways viewers move in front of art and how this impacts experiences. We aim to close this gap, using a new paradigm in a gallery-like setting in which we tracked movements of participants that engaged an abstract artwork. Guided by a literature review, we relate objective movement factors and subjective body awareness to mobile viewing behavior, art experience, and expertise. We also—for the first time—define shared movement patterns employing principal component/cluster analysis and relate these to experience outcomes, noting, for example, that moving more/more dynamically related to more reported insight. As a proof-of-concept paper, we hope to support a more embodied, enactive understanding of art engagements, and provide practical guidelines for future research.

Installation art, with its immersive and participatory character, has been argued to require the use and awareness of the body, which potentially constitute key parts of the artwork's experience and appreciation. Heightened body awareness is even argued to be a key to particularly profound emotional or even transformative states, which have been frequently ascribed to this genre. However, the body in the experience of installation art has rarely been empirically considered. To address this gap, we investigated the body's role in the experience of Tomás Saraceno's in orbit installation. Based on a list of self-report items created from a review of the theoretical literature, we—for the first time—captured (quantitatively and qualitatively): what kind of subjective bodily experiences visitors (N = 230) reported, how these items grouped into clusters (using network science), and how these relate to emotion, art appraisal, and transformative outcomes. Network analysis of the items determined four communities related to “interoception,” “presence,” “disturbance,” and “proprioception.” Proprioception (e.g., awareness of balance/movement/weight) turned out to be a significant determinant of art appreciation in our study, and, together with “disturbing” body experiences (feeling awkward/watched/chills), coincided with transformation. We also assessed individual differences in body awareness yet did not find that these moderate those relationships. We suggest future research on installation art based on a more unified assessment of the role of the body in embodied-enactive aesthetics and its relation to the intensity and impact of art experience in general.

Installation art, with its immersive and participatory character, has been argued to evoke and require the use and awareness of the body, which potentially constitute key parts of the artwork’s experience and appreciation. Heightened body awareness is even argued to be a key to particularly profound emotional or even transformative states, which have been frequently ascribed to this genre. However, the role of the body in the experience of installation art has rarely been empirically considered. To address this gap, we investigated the body’s role in the experience of Tomás Saraceno’s “in orbit” installation. Based on a list of self-report items created from a review of the theoretical and anecdotal literature, we—for the first time—captured (quantitatively and qualitatively): what kind of subjective bodily experiences visitors (N = 222) reported, how these items grouped into clusters (using network science), and how these relate to emotion, art appraisal, and transformative outcomes. Network analysis of the items determined four communities related to ‘interoception,’ ‘presence,’ ‘disturbance,’ and ‘proprioception,’ with the latter (awareness of balance/movement/weight) turning out to be a significant determinant of art appreciation in our study, and together with ‘disturbing’ body experiences (feeling awkward/watched/chills) coincided with transformation. We also assessed individual differences in body awareness yet did not find that these moderate those relationships. We suggest future research on installation art based on a more unified assessment of the role of the body in embodied-enactive aesthetics and its relation to the intensity and impact of art experience in general.