Art and its incredible effects on mind - An insight by Meena Chopra

Starry Night by Van Gogh

Author: Meena Chopra
Art House for Kids-Art as healer has always improved the quality of life and mind giving a third dimension to the human personality in many ways. Art is a beautiful thing to be enjoyed, and knowing the powers it can have on the human mind is certainly an added bonus.

Music, dance, painting and other forms of art have shown to have an incredibly significant and positive effect on children and adults both.. 

Art therapy has been used to awaken the senses of underprivileged children through both the viewing and creating of art by them.Through their artistic endeavours they subconsciously associate themselves with their past. The memories come more freely since they are not elicited by direct objects, but indirect thought instead. 

Sun Flower by Van Gogh

Due to many past experiences many children begin to develop nervousness, anxiety, sleeping excessive or too little, a lack of verbal, social and language skills. Many times depending on the color within a piece, or may be some other quality of the artwork, different emotions can be evoked by the observer unknowingly. Awakening of the senses through experimentation with the different types of art these children experience an untapped emotional world within themselves and with this association with their own inner being, they are able to show increased abilities in their cognitive, motor and social skills. 

Many of the most famous pieces in the Pop art movement have utilized popular advertisements that could be easily tied to past memories. Pop art is known very well for its use of bright, vibrant colors. 

Piccaso - Woman with Fan

Pop art is specifically tied to nostalgic thoughts and associations since many of these works utilize old comics, food wrappers, advertisements and other types of found art that people may recognize from past events in their lives.  Pop art is especial useful in helping evoke past memories and gain insight through the use of bright colors. Nostalgic undertones emotions and feelings surrounding past events can be easily conjured up through the study of Pop art.

According to a 2010 study conducted by researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine, viewing paintings as opposed to photographs of similar objects evoked more of a sense of reward within the brain. Participants in the study were shown pieces from different artists such as Van Gogh and Picasso, and then they were showed photographs that depicted very similar objects. When they studied the brains of the participants through imaging technology, the ventrial striatum, which is part of the reward system, became more strongly activated when the participant saw a painting rather then a photograph of a similar object. Even if only momentarily, the memories they experience have shown to increase positive moods and improve their quality of life.

Pop art, for example, impacts different people in different ways. Clearly different aspects of art and the participation in the arts can have a profound and positive effect on the human mind. Most forms of art are able to impact the human mind in one way or another.With its strong ties to commercial consumerism and found art, it is easy to evoke emotion in someone when utilizing the properties of Pop art. But Pop art is not the only type of art that can be used to help stimulate areas of the brain and help in the process of resolving issues. 

Beatles

Bright yellows often evoke a feeling of happiness, which is a very common color in Pop art pieces. For example, if someone is dealing with a childhood trauma, memories from childhood can help them figure out exactly what happened and how to move past it.

Utilizing pop art to delve into past memories can be very therapeutic for many different reasons. Alzheimer's patients are often involved in music therapy, which has shown to help them recover and reconnect with past memories therefore acting as a healer and giving a positive impact to the mind towards their improvement and well being .  

What is most important is to explore the impact art has on the human mind and figure out how to positively harness the impact and minimize any negativity.

 StarBuzz, Toronto