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Arts & Communication Cognition and cultural mediation

Cultural mediation is a collective construction in which additional information are provided, generating both
the mediator, the viewer, and the artwork occupy the same understanding and esthetic appreciation is still possible.
space and simultaneously share experiences that stem Leder et al. investigated the influence of the title
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from their own perception. These experiences expand the on the interpretation of artworks, in particular on the
interpretative possibilities offered by an exhibition or an appreciation of paintings. They presented a total of 48
artwork. paintings, which comprised 24 figurative and 24 abstract
The presentation of texts in an exhibition can help paintings. The figurative paintings represented styles from
to contextualize the artwork by providing information the 1900s to the 1930s, such as Expressionism and Cubism.
about the artists and the period in which the artwork In these paintings, one can recognize scenes of buildings
was created, and by making connections between and landscapes. The abstract paintings represented
historical periods, materials, and techniques used by the Expressionism created between 1950 and 1990. The
artists. The texts available in exhibitions introduce the researchers designed two experiments to test temporal
subject matter by presenting data about the artists and variations in esthetic appreciation by comparing the effects
providing explanations for the selection of artworks. At of descriptive titles and detailed titles for artworks during
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the same time, they can interfere and lead the viewer to short and long presentation times. Forty-eight individuals
a particular interpretation and influence their experience (mean age of 26.2 years), who participated in this study,
of the artwork. According to this understanding, texts were exposed to all paintings. In the first experiment,
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and titles that accompany an artwork can be considered abstract paintings received higher comprehension ratings
semantic priming and influence the viewer’s appreciation when accompanied by detailed titles, and descriptive
of the art. By understanding how the presentation of titles did not improve comprehension ratings of the work.
information can influence the audience’s interpretation However, when viewing time was limited to 1 s, descriptive
of an artwork, educational programs can develop better titles improved comprehension more than detailed titles
mediation strategies. did. The presentation of the artist’s name and title led to a
stronger involvement and perception of the works by the
2.2. Semantic priming participants.
In the context of mediation in visual arts, the concept In the second experiment, where the paintings were
of priming can help us to better understand how a text presented for a short duration (1 s), the descriptive titles
influences the viewer’s interpretation of an artwork. significantly facilitated the understanding of the painting
Priming (or pre-activation) is a cognitive process that compared to the detailed titles. In presentations with
sensitizes the individual to a specific, previously presented a medium duration (10 s), the detailed titles increased
stimulus. Priming therefore occurs when the presentation comprehension more than the descriptive titles did. In
of previous stimuli influences later cognitive processes. 12,13 this way, the researchers were able to determine that
The presentation of the text in the mediation process can the way participants interpret the artwork depends on
be regarded as semantic priming. In semantic priming, the the type of information (whether it is descriptive or
presented stimulus is associated with textual information. detailed). Descriptive information can help to classify
In the specific case of this research, this can be the text that artworks in situations where a quick judgment needs to
accompanies a painting. Primings influence future actions be made. However, in the more realistic situation, where
by unconsciously evoking attitudes or behaviors. In the the viewer perceives the paintings for a longer time, the
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same way, the stimulus that accompanies the artwork can understanding of the works is better if the information
influence the viewer’s perception. presented is more detailed. Well-prepared information can
There are studies that aim to understand the influence of therefore lead to better results and understanding of the
semantic priming on the appreciation and understanding artwork, affording the viewer a more in-depth experience
of works. The study by Knoos et al. has demonstrated of cultural mediation.
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the importance of the additional information and titles of We would like to highlight the comparison between
an artwork. For the authors, additional information that the present study and the research of Belke et al. Using
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explains the artwork can arouse the interest of laypeople. a “cross-modal” method, they investigated the influence
However, understanding complex information necessitates of semantic priming, represented by different titles of the
huge knowledge, potentially preventing laypeople from same work, on the interpretation of paintings. Twenty
getting to know and appreciating the artwork. Another psychology students (including 17 women) were presented
important finding from the study was that even if the with 24 paintings in three different styles (cubist, abstract,
artwork appears inexplicable although the title and and figurative). Each painting was randomly presented

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 3 doi: 10.36922/ac.2105