In another experiment, Alex Forsythe of the University of Liverpool analysed the visual intricacy of different pieces of art, and her results suggest that many artists use a key level detail to please the brain. Too little and the work is boring, but too much results in a kind d 'perceptual overload, according to Forsythe. What's more, appealing pieces both abstract an representational, show signs of 'fractals' - repeated motifs recurring in different scales. Fracta are common throughout nature, for example in the shapes of mountain peaks or the branche of trees. It is possible that our visual system, which evolved in the great outdoors, finds it easier to process such patterns.
It is also intriguing that the brain appears to process movement when we see a handwritten letter, as if we are replaying the writer's moment of creation. This has led some to wonder whether Pollock's works feel so dynamic because the brain reconstructs the energetic actions the artist used as he painted. This may be down to our brain's 'mirror neurons, which are known to mimic others' actions. The hypothesis will need to be thoroughly tested, however it might even be the case that we could use neuroaesthetic studies to understand the longevity of some pieces of artwork. While the fashions of the time might shape what is currently popular, works that are best adapted to our visual system may be the most likely to linger once the trends of previous generations have been forgotten.
