The drawings in Blombos Cave in South Africa, for example, are estimated to be about 73,000 years old. But this is less about how old and more about how often, and for how long. OK, how often, and for how long?
Well, if you like, sure (though ask the owner and check for bears first). But this is about experiencing art. To make me more cultured and interesting?
But mainly because it’s good for you. A study by the Art Fund charity, and more specifically Daisy Fancourt, a professor of psychobiology and epidemiology at University College London, who wrote the foreword to the report, as well as the book Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health. And what does Fancourt have to say?
It’s being called RDA – recommended dose of art. Fancourt says of visiting museums and galleries: “The evidence suggests they should be viewed as health-promoting behaviours, alongside having a balanced diet, regular exercise and spending time outdoors.” OK, but one study, by a charity that exists to get people to go to galleries … Another study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, working with data from 2,148 adults in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, found a 48% lower risk of depression for people going to museums, theatre and cinema once a month. Another study, published in the journal Brain, Behaviour and Immunity, found “evidence that authentic art viewing engages biological processes linked to stress reduction and immune modulation”.
Yes, the interesting thing about this study is that it compared the physiological impact of viewing original artworks in a gallery with looking at reproductions in a laboratory. The positive effects were “not observed when the same works were viewed as reproductions”. So the Starry Night phone wallpaper, which I see about 17,000 times a month, doesn’t count as my RDA?
Do say: “Thanks, I’ve been feeling great ever since my GP prescribed the Barbara Hepworth show.” Don’t say: “And they do great doughnuts in the gallery cafe.”
Extract — continue reading at the source.
