Abstract/Summary

It is suggested that similar cognitive processes are involved with both the creation and perception of art. However, a lack of research examines this relationship, whether this is just from the perspective of the artist, or in relation to the artist and perceiver of the final product. To do so, we examined the experience of artists and non‐artists investigating initial stages of art‐making by examining relationships between aesthetic and drawing preferences of geometric stimuli (Experiments 1 & 2). To further understand this experience, we allowed artists and non‐artists to be involved in actual drawing activity (stippling and stroking) whilst making drawing preferences. We also examined how being involved in drawing influenced aesthetic preferences (Experiment 3), this led to conducting studies considering perceivers (artists/non‐artists) of artworks. Here, we investigated how congruent actions (simultaneously produced or learnt during pre‐training) with the artists behind the artwork influenced aesthetic responses (Experiments 4 & 5). Examination of gaze behaviour throughout these studies provides further insight into the aesthetic experience by revealing the processes behind formations of judgements. Overall, we conclude that there are similarities between experiences (gaze and judgments) involved in the creation and perception of art. We find similarities between aesthetic and drawing preferences and find gaze to be impacted in a similar manner when observing images in comparison to making a drawing choice. We do not provide support that these drawing choices are influenced by being involved with drawing but do show that the more experience a perceiver receives with these actions of the artist the more their aesthetic judgements are influenced by these, supporting the relationship between artist and perceiver depicted in the mirror model of art. We provide a foundation for future research to empirically analyse connections between the creation and perception of art and the relationships between the artist and perceiver.