“What does love have to do with art?” According to the dictionary, the meaning of love is: a feeling of strong or constant affection: a person you love in a romantic way.

 

Think of art like love. Art can be sexy. You can fall in love with art without knowing the artist’s concept, ideas, or biography. Like falling in love with a person, it can be complicated, but it can be so worth it since it keeps us connected to our humanity.

 

Works of art are inspired by the artist’s spirit and hold meaning and power. Art has an impact on emotions, the nervous system, can raise serotonin levels, changes the way a person perceives the world, and how we function individually and as a society.

 

Education in the arts has an influence on emotional development among other things. Research has proven the arts develop neural systems that produce a broad spectrum of benefits ranging from fine motor skills to creativity and improved emotional balance. 

 

To find art you love, you don’t have to have any education in the arts. I have taken an Art History class and I know I am not an expert, I just know that art moves me. Don’t let a lack of history or knowledge in the arts overwhelm you.

 

It comes down to how you feel about that piece of art and not what anyone else thinks. Don’t let someone who claims to be an expert influence you on the artwork you love. Do you!

 

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose our selves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton

 

All of that said… I wanted to explore all the ways that art and love are related since love is going to be in the air soon XOXO. Please come with me and let’s explore all the ways that art and love connect with each other.

 

 

6 Different Ways Art Can Create Love

 1. Dopamine

Art by Marie Kost – Love Is in The Air – digital print
Art by Marie Kost – Love Is in The Air – digital print

There is scientific evidence that shows the brain reacts similarly when viewing artwork and when falling in love. New research by Semir Zeki, Professor of Neuroesthetics at University College London demonstrates that viewing a beautiful work of art creates the same chemical response as love. Both experiences trigger the feel-good chemical dopamine.  Zeki explained, “We wanted to see what happens in the brain when you look at beautiful paintings.” The experiment concluded when you look at art “whether it is a landscape, a still life, an abstract or a portrait – there is strong activity in that part of the brain related to pleasure.” The participants underwent brain scans while being shown a series of 30 paintings by major artists. When viewing art, they considered most beautiful their blood flow increased in a certain part of the brain by as much as 10%, which is the equivalent to gazing at a loved one. Paintings such as those by artists Constable, Ingres, and Monet produce the most powerful ‘pleasure’ response. If you’re having issues in the love area of your life and want to have that feeling of being in love, my suggestion is to start looking at art!

 

2. Exhilarating Response

Art by Marie Kost – Joy – digital print

It can be an exhilarating and exciting, the feeling of being in love. The feeling of being happy, animated, or elated. A good work of art can make you feel empowered and connected to the people and the things around you. You may feel like the piece of art is giving you as much or more than what you are offering.

 

3. Immediate Response

Art by Marie Kost – Minnehaha Falls – digital print

What are you feeling? How does the artwork make you feel? This is kind of like being on a first date. What are your first impressions of the person with whom you are on a date? The difference is that a work of art can make you feel shocked/surprised, which is centered around something new and unexpected - good or bad - and still make you fall in love with it. Kind of the same concept on how people are attracted to 'bad boys'. These emotions can be terrible, but great at the same time.

 

4. Mysterious Response

Art by Marie Kost – Cape Cod – digital print

This happens when you wonder how a particular piece of art was created. You may ask yourself, “How was that effect created?” or “How was the combination of those fascinating elements accomplished?” Sometimes a work of art can seem so magically created that it seems impossible that another human could have created it. It should make you want to move in closer and learn more.

 

5. Physical Response

photograph of hand pointing down

Have you ever gotten butterflies from being in love? A similar response from viewing a piece of art is aesthetic chills. The feeling is common to experiences such as awe, feeling touched, or absorption. Personality traits along the Big 5 Inventory are predictors of a person's experience of aesthetic chills, especially a high rating on Openness to Experience. A person’s expertise with the arts can be a factor in them experiencing aesthetic chills, but this may be due to going through a certain process of experiencing art that alters or contributes to one’s knowledge, opinions, or skills more frequently.

 

6. Connection

Art by Marie Kost – Love – digital print

Even if you can’t afford to buy the piece of artwork once the connection is made, it is not going away - that is the beauty of art museums. This is one difference between being in love with a person and a piece of art. A person can fall out of love with the other person, but if you are in love with a piece of art, you don’t have to worry about it falling out of love with you. Once the connection is made, no one can take it away from you and your piece of art. The only thing holding us back from this feeling is us.

 

Valentine’s Day Art Fun Facts

Here are some art/Valentine’s Day fun facts. 

  • Minneapolis Institute of Art is one of the largest art museums in the United States. The art museum has 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history.
  • Valentine’s Day originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world
  • The Valentine’s Day custom of sending cards, flowers, chocolates, and other gifts originated in the UK
  • During the Victoria Era those who didn’t want the attention of certain suitors would anonymously send “vinegar valentines." These cards, also called penny dreadfuls, were the antithesis of customary valentines, comically insulting and rejecting unwanted admirers.
  • The term “wearing your heart on your sleeve” may have origins in picking a valentine. Smithsonian reports that during the Middle Ages, men would draw the names of women who they would be coupled with for the upcoming year while attending a Roman festival honoring Juno. After choosing, the men wore the names on their sleeves to show their bond during the festivities.
  • The iconic chalky heart-shaped candies that have been passed out lovingly every Valentine’s Day started out as lozenges. 
  • Cupid was known to the ancient Greeks as Eros, the god of love. Eros, the son of Greek goddess Aphrodite, would use two sets of arrows—one for love and another for hate—to play with the emotions of his targets. It wasn’t until stories of his mischief were told by Romans that he adopted the childlike appearance that we recognize today.
  • How ‘X’ became to mean ‘kiss’ is the symbol was used to sign off on documents. After marking with an X, the writer would often kiss the mark as a sign of their oath. As the gesture grew among kings and commoners to certify books, letters and paperwork, these records were described as having been “sealed with a kiss.”

 

 

“When you observe a profound piece of art you are potentially firing the same neurons as the artist did when they created it thus making new neural pathways and stimulating a state of inspiration. This sense of being drawn into a painting is called “embodied cognition”. – Natural Blaze website Jaco Devaney wrote

 

 

Ways On How to Fall in Love with Art

If you aren't sure where to start, here are some ideas to find art you like.  Remember to explore more than one of the suggestions below. For example, there are different types of art museums so explore more than one.

 

  • Art Museums
  • Online – Etsy, mariekostart.com
  • Art/Craft shows
  • Art Fairs
  • Galleries (Tip-There is free admission.)
  • Art books
  • Take an Art History class - even though you don’t need to know the history of art to find art you love!

 

Tips On Visiting a Museum

Here are some tips on visiting a museum to make it more enjoyable. 

  • Don’t worry so much about the text that is on the wall with the art.
  • Find that piece that catches your eye. Take in the moment and enjoy it.
  • Even when you find a piece you like, don’t immediately start reading the text on the wall. Get a little more intimate with the piece before reading.
  • Go more than once. Museums can be overwhelming sometimes so I always find when I go back, I find a piece that I hadn’t noticed before.
  • Go to areas of the museum that are less crowded. Try going through the museum backwards!
  • Go during the week when it is less crowded. Weekends usually are busy!
  • Keep in mind if there is a special limited exhibit, it can be crowded and slow to get through.
  • Only spend a few hours at the museum.
  • Don’t spend the whole day. It can get overwhelming after awhile!
  • Don’t take pictures to go back and look at the pieces. Experience what is in front of you now! Isn’t everything more enjoyable in the moment versus looking at a picture? (I think you know the correct answer to this.)
  • Some museums charge and some don’t.
  • If a museum charges, they often have free nights like once a month or certain days of the week. Do your research if you don’t want to pay. Just remember: free nights mean more crowds.

 

If you don’t have a museum close by, you can do a museum virtually. There are hundreds of thousands of works available online through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum and the Rijksmuseum. If you would like to look on your phone try the Google Arts & Culture app, which includes works from hundreds of museums.

 

What If You Don’t Like the Art?

This can be the same concept as dating. You don’t like everyone that you go on a date with, so you don’t have to like every piece of art you come across either.  The thing is sometimes finding what you don’t like can help you find what you do like or help you understand what you do like.

 

Maybe you do not like the art, but still love the artist. You know what you like and don’t like, so go with your gut. What one person may love another person may not like. As I always say, you do you.

 

Sometimes with art, like a person, you may need to understand where the artist is coming from to appreciate a piece or series. When you go to a museum and don’t like a piece of art you can either walk away or try to understand where the artist is coming from. It's up to you!

 

If you want to understand where the artist is coming from, this is where reading the wall text about the artist and what they say the piece represents can be handy.  Understanding where the artist's motivations may help you to understand the piece better, even if you may never love it. 

 

For example, I remember the first time I visited the Walker Museum in Minneapolis. I turned a corner into an empty room with a real stuffed horse hanging from the ceiling. It was shocking, but that is the reaction the artist wanted to create!  I saw that piece like 20 years ago and I will never forget it!

 

How Do You Plan on Finding Art You Love?

I want you to remember that even if a piece of work is popular and you don’t like it, or if there is a piece of artwork that isn’t popular, and you love it - that is okay.  You do you! I want you to think of different ways you can find art that you love. Search online or go into a museum or an art gallery.

 

Think about the ways you want to find the art that you love and have fun with it! An idea is to go to an art gallery for Valentine’s Day. Now wouldn’t that be a great Valentine’s Day - to be with someone you love and find a piece of artwork that you love too! XOXO

 

*HUGS*

Marie

Helping You Escape Daily Stress by Using Art to Relax

 

 

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest