Abstract Art Engages the Brain in Unexpected Ways
Abstract art stimulates more diverse brain activity than representational art.
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These paintings are both by the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian but display strikingly different styles. The house on the left is representational; the colorful squares on the right are more abstract. In a new Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, scientists showed this pair of paintings (and others) to people while scanning their brains. The results shed light on how we respond to art and provide a scientific test of a longstanding idea in art theory.
Researchers at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute found that people’s brain activity varied more when viewing abstract art, as compared with representational art. This was especially true in the default mode network, a brain region linked to interpreting the meanings underlying narratives, as well as abstract thought, imagination and creativity.
“These findings support the idea that observers are more likely to analyze abstract art in their own uniquely personal way,” said Celia Durkin, PhD, first author on the new study and a former graduate student in the Shohamy lab.
The discovery is a step toward fulfilling a longstanding goal of Nobel laureate and study co-author Eric Kandel, MD: to understand how the brain contributes to the experience of art.
“Eric approached me with an interest in developing a test of ‘the beholder’s share,’ a concept from art history that suggests observers actively engage in constructing meaning as they view art,” said study co-author Daphna Shohamy, PhD, director and CEO of Columbia's Zuckerman Institute. “The experiment provides scientific evidence that viewing and interpreting abstract art relies on personal experiences and memories, not just in theory, but in patterns of brain activity.”
Reference: Durkin C, Apicella M, Baldassano C, Kandel E, Shohamy D. The Beholder’s Share: Bridging art and neuroscience to study individual differences in subjective experience. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2025;122(15):e2413871122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2413871122
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