Affective Art Algorithm

Curious to learn more? Here’s an excerpt from my final research paper in 2018 explaining the project proposal and preliminary research:

Project Idea

The Affective Art Algorithm explores the connection between anticipated characteristics versus resonant characteristics when looking, or thinking about, art. Meaning, what are some qualities of art that I consciously look for versus the qualities that find me subconsciously? For this research, I collected a body of works that range from beautiful to sublime to uncanny to suspenseful, etc. I identified many of the “affective characteristics” they contained and assigned them all weights in these attributed categories via surveys sent out to artistically inclined and uninclined students. Then, I deposited this content in an online repository that allows users to change the weights of these qualities in order to pull one resulting artwork. With the algorithmically produced result, I provide some rationale as to why that artwork was selected by its resonance with the characteristics identified in the preference survey. I then ask users to contribute feedback on whether or not the artwork matched their expectations, thus allowing users to participate in this thought project, and perhaps take away a new way of thinking about art in a more affective manner. 

Preliminary Research 

To identify the affective categories, Dr. Etcoff and I read literature on naming and categories like Sianne Ngai’s Our Aesthetic Categories and Ines Schindler’s Measuring Aesthetic Emotions. The final list of categories that we used are:

• Awe-inspiring

• Balanced

• Beautiful

• Calming

• Colorful

• Confusing

• Delighting

• Depressing

• Disturbing

• Exciting

• Fear-inducing

• Melancholic

• Romantic

Some of the characteristics jumped out more readily than others (like awe-inspiring, beautiful, calming, colorful, melancholic, and romantic) as standard measures of qualities we look for, or are prone to feeling, in works of art. Other categories were added from a feeling that there was a gap in representation of positively vs. negatively connotated words (like disturbing) in order to ensure a wider range for users to select from. Lastly, some of the words were chosen to be intentionally vague (like balanced and confusing) to allow users to interpret and utilize the category as it best fit them. However, because of this intention, and the lack of sophisticated machine learning in the final algorithm, the resulting artworks that users see might not perfectly encapsulate the visual they anticipated viewing based on the discrepancy between how they defined a category vs. how it is staunchly defined in the making of the algorithm. 

In an attempt to define these categories broadly yet as accurately as possible, we thought of the words as such (provided that some words are a bit more intuitive than others): 

• Awe-inspiring: Eliciting a feeling of awe, perhaps even verging on the sublime.  

• Balanced: A measure of symmetricality or evenness. Is the weight of the painting spread throughout the composition? Are more areas denser with content or color than others?

• Beautiful: Would this artwork appeal to most viewers as something visually pleasant and enjoyable? Does it meet standard conventions/interpretations of beauty?

• Calming: Does this artwork have a soothing magnetism? Is it able to mesmerize and quiet you as you look at it?

• Colorful: Is there a variety of colors present in the work? Or are there a few colors that are depicted strongly? Basically, a simpler measure to steer away from more washed out or grayscale imagery. 

• Confusing: An attempt to categorize the abstract. Is the subject matter undetectable? Is the feeling it elicits on a viewer unidentifiable? 

• Delighting: A measure for how uplifting and enchanting an artwork can be. 

• Depressing: Does looking at this artwork deplete any jovial energy or disposition you had prior to looking at it?

• Disturbing: A measure for identifying any unsettling feelings about an artwork. As opposed to being merely “ugly,” how does this artwork unnerve you?

• Exciting: A quantifier for how energizing an artwork is. Does it pulsate in some way either within you or on the canvas? 

• Fear-inducing: Does the subject matter of this work feel frightening or scary? Not in an unsettling way, but more so as a standard scare. 

• Melancholic: Does this artwork elicit any feelings of sadness or depict any tragic scene? 

• Romantic: A measure of how affectionate a viewer feels towards the subject matter, or perhaps the subject matter depicting something traditionally loving.