Incredibly there are things that we can learn about a person’s character by looking at their taste and choice in artwork. What we learn can prove very important.
5 ways to measure personality types
There are five major yardsticks for measuring a person’s personality type. These are:
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extroversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
These are referred to as the Ocean. These ways of measuring someone’s personality type have been around for years, and a person’s character is measured according to these concepts but along a sliding scale. So, it is fun to learn where you and your personality fit in this Ocean of characteristics.
If you are at all interested in art shows then you are at least somewhat prone to openness. Also, playing at a Golden Euro Mobile Casino could be an indication. However, the type of art that interests you may also have some bearing. If we look at the ‘meaning’ of art, it can help to determine conscientiousness and colors, whether strong colors or soft tones can tell us something about extroversion. Whether you exhibit strong emotional responses of praise or dislike towards certain art can tell us about your agreeableness or your neuroticism.
Do you prefer traditional art forms or more avant-garde?
Your character is going to impact whether you prefer traditional or avant-garde art. That being said, there will always be exceptions to the rule. But assuming you were looking to purchase artwork for your home. Are you likely to go for modern, minimalist, or more classic, traditional forms?
Generally speaking, the more open you are, perhaps more liberal-minded, the more likely you will choose modern pieces, perhaps more complicated with underlying meanings. Someone with a more traditional conservative personality is more likely to choose more traditional pieces that “make sense” when you view them.
The Journalist, Brianna Randall agrees when she says “Open personalities are partial to more complex paintings while conservative personalities like more straightforward, traditional pieces.”
Also Read: This 24 Year Artist Opened the Milan Art Institute, A Virtual Online Art Program
Would you be considered agreeable?
The type of artwork that you favor may reflect how agreeable you are as a person. If we use the Ocean model – are you attracted to more ‘agreeable’ solid and consistent pieces or more abstract, unusual forms of art that often require you to ‘figure them out’.
90,000 people were studied in 2005 and it was found that people who “were less agreeable and more neurotic tended to like abstract, jarring and unusual artwork…” People who preferred more traditional artwork, impressionism, for example, tended to be more agreeable.
How do you perceive the world?
The way you see the world is also reflected in your taste in art. This also explains much about you, about your character and personality traits.
The Journal of Eye Movement Research carried out a study in 2018 and learned that the majority of people view art by focusing first at the top right-hand corner and then moving their eyes across the painting, from right to left. This makes sense as we know that the right side of the brain is in charge of understanding and processing visual and spatial things.
There were people in the study who began looking at the painting or art form from the left-hand side, and they were found to be more anxious and neurotic personality types. So, we are able to learn more about someone’s personality by the way in which they actually physically view art and not only their personal taste in art.
Is a piece of artwork meaningful to you
Your taste in art can also reflect your personality and character by how much meaning it has for you. A painting can have different meanings for different people, depending on what in the painting you are focused on or interests you.
For each person looking at the same painting, it will likely be very different. Looking at Renoir’s painting “Luncheon of the Boating Party” will mean different things to different people, depending on their personalities. They will focus and be drawn to different aspects of the painting. The way you interpret a painting will say a lot about you and the way you think. There is no right or wrong.
The author, Ilona Polinovsky says, “When we see a piece of art that catches our attention on a street, in a store, or at the doctor’s office, we try to understand it by analyzing details and try to grasp the idea behind the painting. Everyone has their unique interpretation and very often this interpretation is based on our personality and emotional intelligence.”
There has been a lot of research done into why people choose particular types of art but it is not absolutely conclusive. There are those that say that the Ocean model, the Big 5, is suitable only for people living in the developed world.
Another criticism is that the studies that have been carried out focus on art in the form of paintings and don’t look at the many other forms of art currently on display all over the world. It should also be noted that our preferences do change as we grow and develop and are faced with a multitude of life experiences.
We all see, feel, and think differently. The Rorschach Test, introduced by the Swiss psychoanalyst in the 1920s, looks at the way in which people perceive images of ink blotted on paper. In this way, he was able to analyze a person’s emotional state of mind by the way in which they perceived these images. These tests are still used today.
From this, it would be fair to extrapolate that your taste in art goes beyond a superficial liking but is connecting with something about you on a much deeper level.
