In my paper I will examine how emotion and consciousness make an
appearance in pictorial representations and what kind of skills
these representations require.
Brain imaging techniques are involved in the study of both
consciousness and emotions. In the fine arts, we can encounter
only emotions. I will suggest that this asymmetry is rooted in
the difference between the two phenomena. Both emotion and
consciousness are considered as being basic capacities. In the
case of emotion, its expression is spectacular and indispensible
in social interaction. Accordingly, a nomenclature evolved for
its expression and representation.
Though scientists consider consciousness as being as important
as emotions, we notice it on rare occasion in everyday
intercourse, or more precisely, the difference between conscious
and unconscious movements/actions are hardly recognizable.
The techniques applied in the fine arts are based on embodied
experiences, therefore a basic-level understanding of artistic
works does not need special expertise. Brain imaging techniques
are highly artificial and their understanding requires
specialized knowledge. Since consciousness is assumed to play a
part in cognitive processes but is inaccessible to the naked
eye, we consider it as a theoretical construct which is supposed
to be accessible only via artificial means.
