Is Abstract Art Always Wrong?

Abstract Art can hurt patients!

Gerhard Richter  is my favorite living artist. But could the painting shown above (Januar) which is in the St. Louis Art Museum be the worst possible art for a healthcare setting?

Roger Ulrich is the pioneering researcher on the use of art in hospitals. He would argue something like this:

Being a patient is a very negative and frightening experience.  Abstract Art, being ambiguous is open to interpretation. If one feels bad, the interpretation is likely to be frightening which is likely to trigger negative feelings. Those negative feelings could harm the patient. Furthermore, the majority of the public does not like abstract art.

This appears to be true in every country where it has been researched.  The response to abstract art can even turn violent. Ulrich reports that in Sweden there were seven incidents of patients actually physically attacking and damaging abstract works of art. It is clear that scores of research articles would say that abstract art is wrong in patient rooms.

Does this apply also to public spaces in hospitals? According to Kathy Hathorn,

"Regardless of its interest or critical importance, abstract art in a hospital lobby is clinically inappropriate."

There is one more reason why Gerhard Richter's paintings would not work well in most hospitals - Budget. Richter's paintings, like Januar shown above routinely sell at auction for over one million dollars. 

Kathy Hathorn is President and Principal- in- Charge of American Art Resources in Houston.

Roger Ulrich is Professor of Architecture at Texas A&M University and serves on the board of the Center for Health Design.

Comments

[Robin Walker]

Ouch! The global statements above are dangerously inaccurate. In contrary to the quotes you have used, my extensive experience proves the opposite. As in any public setting consideration must be paid to the emotions evoked by any work of art. In abstract art the predominant factor is color. Using Richter's painting above is a dramatic example of a painting that evokes despair by color and texture. There are thousand (at least) other examples of abstract paintings that are uplifting. My current project involves 14 paintings for a medical facility, all abstract. Past healthcare projects have all included abstract paintings with great success. As just one example, my new series, Generations, has been very favorably received by the healthcare industry. http://www.art-girls.com/Decorative/generations.html

[Henry Dome]

Robin,
Thanks for your response. I hope I am wrong in my statement that Abstract Art is always wrong. I hope I am wrong because I love abstract art. But if we are going to follow the current guidelines of "Evidence Based Design" then clearly Abstract Art is wrong.

Thoughts from other readers are welcome.

By the way Robin, I love your paintings!

[Nick Kelsh]

Speaking as a photographer who has spent a lifetime shooting black and white photographs and being calmed and soothed (and probably healed on some level) by the black and white work of other photographers I have to respectfully suggest that you, Henry, have overstated your position. Color can actually be a distraction and add what I think can be a negative effect to either a beautiful moment or a breathtaking quality of light. Imagine some greenish fog in whatever beautiful place you love. I can't argue with serious research, but there are so many variables. You need to take another look at Eugene Smith's "Dream Steet" or Edward Weston's shells and peppers. I'm hyperventilating a little less just mentioning them.

[Victoria Hume]

I'd just like to add my voice to those dissenting against the idea that abstract art is problematic. I saw Dr Ulrich present his paper on abstract art - I would be the first to say that he has done a lot for bringing people's attention to the healthcare environment but have to point out that his definition of abstract art was - as I remember it - his and a colleagues' mucking about on photoshop. Not exactly Richter. I've seen, and installed, some fantastic abstract work in hospitals. Art doesn't have to be a view to help people. The mind can escape through more windows than that.

[Michelle Rumbaut]

I'm certainly not an art expert, but I am responsible for art selection at our hospital. I don't think there is any one simple answer to this question - each setting and piece of art would need to be evaluated individually. I think the main thing is to not put art that could seem disorienting in a setting where the patient is already emotionally or physicially disoriented. I don't think that would be the case with colorful, cheerful or peaceful abstract art, but there are certainly some pieces - abstract or not - that evoke sadness, fear, or disorientation. I think those should be avoided.

[Antonio Arch]

I think that everyone reading this needs no convincing of the power of art to stir emotion, promote wellness or speed up healing; and I imagine that we all know the old rule of thumb about using art that employs red sparingly because of its effect on blood pressure and ability to stimulate and excite. Research proves the theory and I imagine that there are volumes of research yet to be carried out and taken down on what styles of art should be used to good use in healthcare. I have never heard the rule of not using abstract art in the field and only recently said to a client how wonderful the Mayo Clinic and Brigham Young projects look to me. I think that this guideline to avoid abstraction is way too broad, general and I’m dying to read the bottom line research. I can tell you from my interest in art crime that way more frescoes and classical statues have been damaged and destroyed by protestors and lunatics of many sorts than the handful of Swedish cases mentioned above.
Also, there are just so many other factors to be taken into account – region, climate, architecture and the kinds of patients who use the facility are just a few that need to be taken into the process of choice.
Lastly, as much as I like Richter’s work, this is a poor example to use. It’s intense, moody and I could see the recovering being annoyed with it just because there is so little about it that calms, inspires or distracts. I know that calm water, landscapes and pleasing palettes go a long way, but I am going to need a lot more convincing before I cease to pitch abstracts to healthcare :-)

[Emma]

That's just shit.
It depends on the piece, obviously, and the patient's perspective on the piece. Generalizing all abstract as "dark" is a poor stereotype.

[Henry Domke]

Emma,
I agree it depends on the piece; and yes, I was generalizing to make a point. However, I suspect that the experts on Evidence-based Design would agree that abstract art is always wrong.

[AL]

Let me get my head around this. Apparently we are supposed to believe that figurative artists are capable of directing the minds of viewers in whatever way they choose, and abstract artists are not. This is a quite astounding contention. I wonder what Richter would have to say about it? Looking at the Richter piece shown I find it hard to believe that it was not selected to make a point - it is a dark moody painting and I am sure Richter knows it. You could equally rubbish the use of figurative art by showing one of his skull paintings or even a cloudy seascape (which as a sailor I find scary).
Incidentally, could any "Evidence Based Design experts" out there let us know if their theories have produced any great and uplifting architecture lately? Research in architecture is one thing. The notion that it can produce design is quite another and seems to me to be dangerous.

[Pepper Hume]

Yup, you really fumbled this presentation. I can think of several very famous representational paintings that would be every bit as disastrous as the Richter you use for example. Several of Goya's war paintings for instance!
True, color is probably the first element to hit the viewer with the most impact, and yes, greys are still colors. What should keep this painting out of health care facilities is the decaying texture, not its lack of pictorial content.

By the by, it still bugs me to hear even artists refer to non-representational, freeform art as abrstract. Abstract can still have recognizable images.

[Kincha Peeva]

In my opinion abstract art is not an issue at all. Maybe the above picture is not the most appropriate for healing purposes, but this says nothing against the abstract art in general. Would it be better to put a still nature or portrait instead?! I prefer abstracts no matter the purpose.

[Terry Pytlarz]

All art is opinion, right? Say a patient doesn't like abstract art. What, then, would be the affect of abstract art on them?

What patients prefer to see to reduce their anxiety, what they ultimately identify with and appreciate isn't up to artists, art buyers, staff, or designers. It's up to the patients. Is there any study that shows the "general public" - who make up the basic patient demographic - likes abstract art more than nature art?

Put a "cheerful, peaceful" abstract piece of art up against a nature image following evidence-based design principles and, in my opinion, the patient will be affected positively more by the nature image. Would a patient really prefer an abstract piece of art to look at while getting an MRI?

So, presuming they don't identify with abstract art, why is it used? Is it because buyers and administrators like it and feel it would give them a cool, modern "edge?" For a lobby where patients usually don't visit themselves, that may work. But where the patients gather and where the healing goes on...is that really what's best for the patient?