Fear and Abstract Art

Mark Rothko, “No. 14″, 1960. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA via

A newly published study finds people are more likely to be inspired by abstract paintings after going through a frightening experience. In the words of researchers, Eskine, Kacinik and Prinz,“Fear is an emotional mechanism that increases survival chances by motivating fight, flight, or freezing responses to threatening situations. Fear seizes one’s attention, halts current plans, and increases vigilance. The capacity of a work of art to grab our interest and attention, to remove us from daily life, may stem from its ability to trigger our evolved mechanisms for coping with danger." 

Fanscinating! Now I'm reevaluation all the stories I have heard about people crying in front of Rothko's...