The Art Experience

Abstract

Art theory has consistently emphasised the importance of situational, cultural, institutional and historical factors in viewers' experience of fine art. However, the link between this heavily context-dependent interpretation and the workings of the mind is often left unexamined. Drawing on relevance theory-a prominent, cogent and productive body of work in cognitive pragmatics-we here argue that fine art achieves its effects by prompting the use of cognitive processes that are more commonly employed in the interpretation of words and other stimuli presented in a communicative context. We describe in particular how institutional factors effectively co-opt these processes for new ends, allowing viewers to achieve cognitive effects that they otherwise would not, and so provide cognitivist backing for an Institutional Theory of Art, such as that put forward by Arthur Danto (1964). More generally, we situate and describe the Western fine art tradition as a phenomenon that is a consequence of both the cognitive processes involved in communication, and of cultural norms, practices and institutions.

Expression Unleashed: The evolutionary & cognitive foundations of human communication

“…We suggest that the open-endedness of artistic expression derives from the natural character of human expression more broadly, and hence hence that the interpretations that audiences derive from artwork, which are often highly personal, are prompted by and derive from the same set of cognitive processes that as more ordinary forms of communication. In saying this, we are endorsing and enriching recent arguments about the nature of art, and audiences' engagement with it, that have been motivated by cognitive pragmatic perspectives (Fodor, 2012;Pignocchi, 2014;2019;Cave & Wilson, 2018;Wilson, 2011;McCallum et al, 2020). This body of work argues, as we have here, that human communication is a 8…”

“…There is after all substantial open-endedness in human expression: the imagined ideal of precise, unambiguous meaning is only a limiting case. Rhetoric and other forms of oratory, for instance, weakly imply or otherwise invite many inferences that are not strictly 'said', as do many forms of non-linguistic expression, such as a facial reaction to others' and other features of curation to present artworks as items to be considered and appreciated, hence triggering, we claim, the audience presumptions of relevance that are an indelible part of ordinary communication (Pignocchi, 2019;McCallum et al, 2020). In other words, it may be the case that art galleries tend to have a high degree of 'naturalness', in the sense that they co-opt core human cognitive capacities-in this case, capacities for communication-making their operation somewhat intuitive (on the 'naturalness' of many social institutions see Boyer & Petersen, 2011).…”

“…In other words, it may be the case that art galleries tend to have a high degree of 'naturalness', in the sense that they co-opt core human cognitive capacities-in this case, capacities for communication-making their operation somewhat intuitive (on the 'naturalness' of many social institutions see Boyer & Petersen, 2011). Furthermore, the credibility provided by art institutions-whether in painting, film, music, literature, or other artistic domain-increases audience expectations of relevance further, encouraging extended contemplation and hence facilitating experiences and the derivation of inferences that can go well beyond what would occur if the object was not encountered in the art institutional context (McCallum et al, 2020). These institutional effects, which can generate highly personal, even idiosyncratic interpretations, are well established in art theory (Danto, 1964;Dickie, 1987).…”

Expression unleashed: The evolutionary and cognitive foundations of human communication

“…Danto, 1964;Dickie, 1987), cognitive pragmatics (e.g. Pignocchi, 2019;McCallum et al, 2020), philosophy of mind (e.g. Fodor, 2012), and social anthropology (e.g.…”

Biological adaptations for cultural transmission?

“…This opens up, or 'unleashes', the domain of human communication [52], and hence allows humans to communicate about any available topic, to make salient what would otherwise be opaque, to express abstract ideas, to help others learn and more broadly to facilitate the flow of ideas and practices on a grand scale ( [70][71][72][73][74][75]; inter alia). Moreover, the mechanistic details of overtly intentional communication help to explain why many otherwise unusual modes of expression are so common in human societies [76][77][78][79]. In short, overtly intentional communication is exceptionally dynamic, flexible and open-ended.…”