When do we need which kind of art?

Song recommendation: Words Fail (from “Dear Evan Hansen”)

The question in the headline is kind of a tough one that has been on my mind for a long time. To see audience engagement with the same piece and observing various reactions towards it, regardless of the background of an individual which is a whole another topic, raises lots of questions that start with “How?”. I am not here to judge (not yet, anyways) any person’s preference or thoughts about a piece(as long as it’s not a piece of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s*) but finding out the reason for different reactions towards creative pieces could be crucial and could really help.

In this blog, I wanted to conduct more artful research by taking a closer look at timing, emotion and the science behind our connection to art. I talk a lot; therefore I write a lot. To exemplify this: Have you ever listened to a song you’ve heard a hundred times before but it suddenly hit you differently? As if the lyrics were written for that specific day, for that specific time and for that specific version of you? Also Have you ever sat next to a friend during a film, only to walk out having had completely different experiences? You’re still crying from the final scene, while they’re already debating whether the pacing was too slow.You think it was brilliant. They thought it was fine. Same background, same film, same room. So… why?

Shocking news, that experience isn’t just emotional. It’s psychological.

Our engagement with art- whether it’s theatre, visual art, music or a painting- is shaped not only by the artwork itself, but by the mental and emotional state we’re in when we encounter it; what we bring into the experience matters just as much as the artwork itself. Studies in neuroaesthetics (which is a science of how the brain processes art) actually says that context is everything. As it is also a very psychological question, we can say that personal disassociation, therefore individual differences plays a crucial role in this engagement.

Art isn’t static. We don’t perceive it in a vacuum. We bring ourselves into it; our moods, our memories, our longings, even our boredom. And because we’re always changing, so is what art means to us. Our response to art isn’t just about exposure or shared experience. Even people raised in the same cultural environment can experience a single piece of art in wildly different ways.

One of the personality traits that majorly affects this engagement is openness to experience. According to the Big Five model* of personality, people who are high in openness to experience tend to seek complexity, novelty, and emotional depth. They’re more likely to enjoy art that challenges, surprises, or moves them emotionally. But even them may vary in preferences in terms of either being drawn to narrative or emotional storytelling and preferring abstract forms. For example, one person might be deeply moved by the emotional storytelling of the film “The Notebook,” while another could find it unbearably cringe—I recently even heard a story about someone breaking off their engagement because of that very movie.  

People also differ in emotional regulation. Art is often used as a tool to cope. But we all cope differently. Some people practice emotional engagement—they want to feel their emotions deeply, even if it hurts. They like to listen to sad music to process their feelings deeply. Others practice distraction or suppression, to regulate negative feelings by avoiding emotional triggers. For instance, one person might listen to “Rolling in the Deep” on repeat to confront heartbreak head-on, while another might choose the upbeat energy of a song like “Dance Monkey” to lift their mood and avoid emotional heaviness.

In this blog, as I have said above, I was actually trying to understand this emotional divergence because It was actually killing me when a friend whose opinion really matters to me does not like a piece that moved me. Those psychological differences make total sense but still feel unacceptable. I wonder if we would ever be able to change our perception (a word that I love) through art pieces because not only people understand what you love, but not understanding what people love about a piece is killing me. It probably is going to be a subject to emotional flexibility extravaganza whatsoever and I am not sure if I am ready to dive into that 🙂.

Different from what I was expecting, the research process for this paper offered me a state of acceptance and things we probably fully cannot control which I do not know if I am okay with. 

Even in the same state, no two people need the exact same thing. One person might want realism, another fantasy. One wants escape, the other wants confrontation.Art doesn't offer a universal answer. It offers a mirror.

I have uploaded the previous paragraphs to fellow ChatGPT to see what it gets as a take-home message. It should have understood my miserability that it has written those below. So I do not know who needs to hear this (I know I did) but here it goes: 

The beauty of art is not just in what’s created—but in how it’s perceived.And that perception is always personal, always shifting, always alive.

Next time you feel like you're the only one crying in the theatre—or the only one not crying—remember:The art didn’t fail.And neither did you.You're just engaging with it in your own, entirely valid way.

*Andrew Lloyd Weber: British Composer/Genius  See his work: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4aP1lp10BRYZO658B2NwkG?si=6QPUllArReKbfaRGLO6-Ng

**Big 5 Personality: Theory by  Lewis Goldberg and McCrae & Costa. You could take the test if you are interested: https://bigfive-test.com/