Infants and Abstract Art

01/08/2014

Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.
Abraham Lincoln

"Have you ever caught yourself staring at an abstract painting and wondering whether the artist really knew what she was doing?," asked Psychology Today ("My Kid Could Paint That, October 2013"). But psychologists from Seattle Pacific University find that people actually prefer the contrast and complexity of abstract art. Psychology Today concludes:

"While some factors that account for such preferences are likely cultural, the curiosity that attracts us to complexity may be innate, as the ability to distinguish the paintings [telling original abstract art from simplified imitations] is present in infants as young as six months. Abstract art may leave some staring quizzically, but it could be significant that people feel moved to stare at all."

Grow Strong Readers through Intentional Resource Selection with Follett Early Learning.

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