In her lecture, “How Arts Works: Five Puzzles,” presented to NIU School of Art and Design, November 10, artist and experimental psychologist Dr. Ellen Winner discusses puzzles about the arts that have preoccupied philosophers as well as the general public. Can art be defined? Why do we seek out art that elicits negative emotions like sadness and fear? Why do we devalue a revered work once it is outed as a forgery? Is abstract art something “my kid could have done”? Does art enhance empathy? As a social scientist, she has tried to answer some of these questions through interviews, observations, and experiments. What she and other psychologists have found reveals surprising answers to these artistic mysteries, and helps us understand how art works on us.
Watch: Dr. Ellen Winner’s guest lecture, “How Art Works: Five Puzzles”
