The Impact of Mood and Environment on Interpretation

Environment:

When considering how to take my text pieces further, I wanted to know how the environment surrounding the piece could impact the work. I thought about projecting the pieces into and onto certain environments, and wondered whether these surroundings could change the meaning of the piece, or at least the way it was interpreted. For example, I thought about my piece titled 'Irreversible', which says "Your Actions Aren't Reversible", and how when making it, I was thinking about climate change. However, while I intentionally kept the piece broad so that it could be interpreted in different ways, I wondered whether projecting the piece onto an oil rig, landfill site or recycling plant may change the way the work is perceived by audiences, and whether it would encourage them to think in the way that I was when creating the work.

Caroline Jones believes that environment, as well as knowledge, can impact the way a work is viewed. She believes that "the buildings and immediate surroundings of the visual representations can overwhelm or enhance the viewer’s experience, and can either add to or detract from the visitor’s appreciation for the art", and that "the following variables in an exhibition space influence a viewer’s experience and understanding of a work of art:

1) the local geography of an art piece, such as the paintings surrounding it, or the style of display

2) the building or interior space itself

3) the supplemental wall texts and labels explaining the history and significance of the piece".

Mood:

As well as considering the impact of environment on my work, I was also interested in the relationship between art and mood.

This is because I want my soft sculpture installations to be immersive and to have a positive impact on the mood of the viewer. To help do this, I have incorporated essential oils into my work, taking into account the research that suggests that they can manipulate mood (to a certain extent). I decided to use lavender and sweet orange essential oils, as lavender is thought to help calm and relax the mind and body, as well as ease symptoms of anxiety and depression, while sweet orange oil may help to lift your mood and reduce stress. I wanted my installation to make the viewers feel comfortable, relaxed and happy, hence my choice of oils.

It is known that art can provoke a range of emotions - both positive and negative - but it seems that art can also improve mood.

It has been suggested that the cognitive processing of art produces affective and often positive and pleasing aesthetic experiences.

It is also suggested that the simple fact of something being considered as art, or being shown in an art context, can also improve emotional responses to negative imagery.

Experiencing art is a self-rewarding activity, irrespective of the emotional content of the artwork. This finding is supported by previous research showing that an art context heightens positive response toward images with negative content.

So it seems that the relationship between art and mood is a positive one, with art being able to elicit positive responses from viewers, or at least mitigate the negative responses to negative content.

Sources:

• THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENT ON THE PERCEPTION OF ART, Caroline Jones, 2020, https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/84386

• https://georgiaplumb17.wixsite.com/georgialaurenart/post/benefits-of-sensory-play

• https://www.healthline.com/health/orange-essential-oil-uses#uses

• https://www.verywellmind.com/lavender-for-less-anxiety-3571767#:~:text=Lavender%20essential%20oil%20is%20one,%2C%20nausea%2C%20and%20menstrual%20cramps.

• Art and Emotion, University of Vienna, https://aesthetics.univie.ac.at/research/art-emotion/#:~:text=Our%20studies%20have%20shown%3A,implicated%20by%20cognitivistic%20art%20theories.

• Stefano Mastandrea, Sabrina Fagioli, Valeria Biasi, 2019 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00739/full