The Aesthetics of Emotion: Up the Down Staircase of the Mind-Body

Gerald C. Cupchik builds a bridge between science and the humanities, arguing that interactions between mind and body in everyday life are analogous to relations between subject matter and style in art. According to emotional phase theory, emotional reactions emerge in a 'perfect storm' whereby meaningful situations evoke bodily memories that unconsciously shape and unify the experience. Similarly, in expressionist or impressionist painting, an evocative visual style can spontaneously colour the experience and interpretation of subject matter. Three basic situational themes encompass complementary pairs of primary emotions: attachment (happiness - sadness), assertion (fear - anger), and absorption (interest - disgust). Action episodes, in which a person adapts to challenges or seeks to realize goals, benefit from energizing bodily responses which focus attention on the situation while providing feedback, in the form of pleasure or pain, regarding success or failure. In high representational paintings, style is transparent, making it easier to fluently identify subject matter.

Author: Gerald C. Cupchik
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 06/21/2018
Pages: 414
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.85d
ISBN: 9781108463935

About the Author
Cupchik, Gerald C.: - Gerald C. Cupchik is Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. His research focuses on emotion and aesthetics using quantitative and qualitative methods in a complementary manner in order to analyze how people respond to paintings and the emotional experiences people have while reading literature or watching films. He also works closely with artists to better understand the processes underlying their creative acts.