An Unpainted Mind: Overlooking the Connection Between Art and Psychology
Have you ever considered your imagination might be the driving force behind everything you experience in life? …From your relationships to your work and even your wildest dreams?
Or, wondered about the flood of external imagery — e.g., TV, computer, streaming ads, etc — HOW is it coloring your inner world?
Our inner visual landscape is as common as breathing and like breathing it is rarely talked about.
This morning I searched through Medium for articles on the intersection of psychology and art. What I found took me by surprise. Few articles discussed the exciting work in neuroaesthetics or broadly termed — neuroarts.
Instead, what I came across, fell into two categories: articles on art therapy, often pathologizing the subject and more esoteric pieces like “ontological art.” While these niches certainly have their place, they don’t capture the broader picture.
Connecting Art and Psychology
The connection between art and psychology isn’t some abstract or philosophical concept; it begins with the imagination which is often misunderstood.
Neuroart!
What is it and how is it connected to imagination?
Neuroart is a new multidisciplinary science investigating how the arts — dance, music, painting — powerfully influence the health and wellbeing of our brains.
This relatively recent niche — since 1999 — is filled with books about the benefits of engaging in artistic activities.
However, the imagination, the driving force enabling us to engage with the arts is rarely spoken about. The pleasures and benefits we gain from participating in the arts is tied to an imagination network in the brain. This too is a recent neuroscientific discovery.
Our imagination is behind engagement with aesthetic activities such as dance, music, and painting.
It is the driver fueling stories we tell ourselves — stories about others and ourselves.
Our imagination paints internal pictures. And these internal painted images influence how we behave and how others respond to us. We are the artist, the canvas, and the viewer. Our mind the studio where we shape our worlds.
Mental imagery helps us grasp complex procedures and connect the dots. It helps us relate to one another, empathize, and most importantly see something in a fresh new way.
In my previous article “Does Art Feed Your Brain?” I highlighted how artwork, especially original pieces, activates multiple cortical regions. How our brains receive a workout when gazing upon original artwork or listening to music. This workout is stimulating by the imagination network in our brains.
It is through imaginative thinking we grasp masterful paintings at a deeper level. It helps us see the big picture.
However, staying unaware of its power leaves us unaware of controlling it. Many of us have tried ChatGPT and open AI products but may not realize their benefits come from sparking ideas not from providing some quick outline or summary of facts.
MRI findings suggest there is an imagination network circulating throughout our brains. This imagination network affects how we experience reality and how we act. Scientifically understanding it is still in its infancy.
But there is clear evidence our imagination is behind everything we do, not just artistic activities.
It enables us to construct mental images, use them to see more complex and difficult ideas, picture these ideas sequentially. Less discussed is how our imaginations fuel the stories we tell ourselves.
So, the next time you stand before a masterpiece in a museum, remember that you’re not just admiring the artist’s creation; you’re also celebrating the artistic genius of your own mind, which continually paints the canvas of your experiences and perceptions. Art and imagination are symbiotic forces, each feeding and nurturing the other in this grand tapestry we call human existence.
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