Perceptual, semantic and affective dimensions of experience of abstract and representational paintings

In this study the difference between representational and abstract paintings in judgments on perceptual, semantic and affective dimensions was investigated. Two groups of participants judged the sets of representational and abstract paintings on three groups of dimensions: perceptual (Form, Color, Space and Complexity), semantic (Illusion-Construction of Reality, Expression, Ideology and Decoration), and affective (Hedonic Tone, Arousal, Relaxation and Regularity). The results have shown that representational paintings have higher judgments on the perceptual dimensions of Form and Complexity, the semantic dimension of the Illusion of Reality (the opposite pole of the Construction of Reality), and the affective dimension of Regularity. On the other hand, abstract paintings have higher judgments on the perceptual dimension of Color, the semantic dimensions of Construction of Reality (the opposite pole of the Illusion of Reality) and Expression, and the affective dimension Arousal. A discriminant analysis indicated that all three sets of dimensions are relatively good predictors of the classification of representational and abstract paintings (61-100%). The results suggest that the subjective categorization of paintings is generally based on the recognizability of pictorial content (representational vs. abstract), but some formal or stylistic properties play a role in the categorization, as well: some expressionistic representational paintings were classified in an abstract category, and some geometrically abstract paintings were classified as representational.