Programme

INTRO
22 February 2023: Bar Area and HORA Conference Room

1-6pm: Registrations

A team from the University of Suceava will hand over your promotional materials and ask you to sign a participation sheet. They will also answer questions relating to practical matters and logistics, introduce you to the city of Suceava, and facilitate introductions among conference participants.

 

PARTICIPANTS AND ABSTRACTS

23 February 2023: HORA Conference Room

9-10.30 am: POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Emily Ufken, University of Konstanz
Curvature as a predictor of the beauty of vases
In 1933, George David Birkhoff published his famous aesthetic measure M. Among others, he chose vases as aesthetic objects and used different geometric relationships of their shape for the calculation of M. However, empirical tests revealed only low correlations between M and human evaluations. In the present study, we therefore followed a different approach to predict the beauty of vases. As variables we considered the curvature of contour and the width of shape. While Birkhoff has also considered curvature for the aesthetic evaluation of vases, he did not include it in his formal calculations of M. The link between curvature and beauty has already been proposed in 1753 by the British artist William Hogarth, who presented seven S-shaped waving lines and declared a specific one with medium curvature as the ‘line of beauty’. To finally test the role of curvature for vases, we constructed vase stimuli by connecting S-shaped lines and their mirror-symmetric counterparts with horizontal lines at the top and bottom edges. As variables, the curvature of contour and the width of shape were varied. Our results indicate that there is a nonlinear relationship between outline curvature and beauty, as well as between width and beauty. Together, these two variables explain more than 90% of the variance in the beauty ratings. In contrast, Birkhoff’s M again fails to substantially predict the beauty ratings.

 Jurate Rimiskyte, Sheffield Hallam University
Transformative visual stimuli: do transforming stimuli determine our aesthetic preferences?
This work presents a PhD program in Neuroaesthetics investigating whether the transformation of visual stimuli determines our aesthetic preferences. Past research has evidenced that transforming stimuli may be preferred over quiescent ones (Soranzo et al., 2018; Wright & Bertamini, 2015). Flavell et al. (2019) also found there is an effect of fluency of transformation – fluent movement is preferred over a non-fluent one. Such preference is further analysed in this project by applying fluent and non-fluent transformation on stimuli with different aesthetic value. Specifically, fluent and non-fluent transformation will be applied on stimuli differing in curvature, colour and texture. We already know that: i) curved stimuli are preferred over angular one (Bertamini et al., 2016); ii) saturated stimuli are preferred over light and muted stimuli (Palmer et al., 2010); iii) textures resembling pleasant stimuli (such as tropical sea, lettuce or chocolate) are preferred over textures resembling unpleasant stimuli (such as rotten strawberries, mud or mould) (Stephen & Hoffman, 2016).

It is still unknown how fluent and non-fluent transformations apply to these preferences. This project aims to explore this issue by carefully replicating previous studies and systematically add fluent and non-fluent transformations. The variable of interest will be the interaction between the established preferences and their applied type of transformation.

 Simina Pitur, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
Poetry-elicited emotions: reading experience and psychological mechanisms
Poetry-elicited emotions have recently come into the focus of empirical aesthetics. However, little is known about the association between individual differences in reader characteristics and emotional responses to poetry, such as differences in reading experience and psychological differences. The latter can be conceptualized either as dispositional traits or as processes that occur during an act of reading, when evaluated in the relation between reading experience and emotions. The present study aimed to investigate the role of reading experience in poetry-elicited emotions, as well as the involvement of empathy, imagery, and proneness to fantasize as potential moderators and mediators in this relation. First, participants completed an on-line survey, which assessed reading experience and traits such as empathy, visual imagery, movement imagery, auditory imagery, and proneness to fantasize. Second, a 30-minutes reading session was followed by an assessment of their emotional responses. Other questions regarded process measures of empathy, visual imagery, movement imagery and auditory imagery for words and for sounds. Results of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that participants with greater reading experience, a higher level of auditory imagery control and a higher level of proneness to fantasize experienced more intense emotions while reading poetry. Furthermore, a mediation analysis revealed that empathy, visual imagery, and auditory imagery for words experienced during the reading session carry the effects of reading experience on emotion intensity. We argue that the present study is a first step in the direction of considering reader characteristics alongside text characteristics when studying poetry-elicited emotions.

11 am-12.00 pm: KEYNOTE SPEECH

Claus-Christian Carbon, University of Bamberg
About the need for a solid and valid theoretical fundament to conduct future aesthetics studies
We live in times when neuroscientific methods have become standard methods that many researchers can easily use. While these modern methods offer great opportunities to understand brain activities linked with aesthetic processing, we face the problem of using sophisticated techniques without a proper and valid theoretical foundation of aesthetics. A further problem arises from sophisticated methods often demanding strict constraints in presenting and experiencing aesthetic stimuli. Especially in the field of art experience where context factors, dynamic effects and social and situational affordances are essential in triggering a true and deep “Kunsterlebnis” (experience of art), such methodological constraints often make ecologically valid processes impossible. Along with these problems, we often have to focus on the aesthetic stimulus as the major object of research, forgetting that the psychologically relevant processes induced by the perception of the object, not the object as such, are the processes we should primarily cover, capture, describe, and analyze. I will propose a dynamic and holistic aesthetic perspective that includes the respective context, situation, cognitive and affective traits and state of the beholder, ongoing processes of understanding and Zeitgeist and other cultural factors. When ignoring such factors, we won’t understand the qualia of aesthetics as we will primarily focus on particular aspects, such as the momentary assessment of aesthetic qualities based on simple and stereotypical shortcuts, which only add minor clarifications to the needed understanding of aesthetic processing.

2-3.30 pm: PAPER PRESENTATIONS

Alexandru Berceanu, Centrul Internațional de Cercetare și Educație în Tehnologii Inovativ Creative – CINETic
From role-play functions to role-play aesthetics
Role-play is used by humans from childhood in  pretend play to adult life in “everyday role-play” as defined by Goffman. Role play is used in psychotherapy and research, in digital and traditional forms of role-play. Role-play finds its highest complexity in artistic endeavors such as theatre and film. Although role-play is an important field of artistic creativity there is currently no inquiry in role-play aesthetics. Based on proposed functions of role-play in neuroscience and psychology we propose a basis for role-play aesthetics. Results from our lab from behavioral and functional data will be presented.

 Marta Pizzolante, Research Center in Communication Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Italy
Preference for symmetry and pro-social behaviors: a virtual eye-tracking study to test the mediating role of aesthetic emotions
There are certain features of our surrounding environment, such as symmetry that, more than others, are capable of eliciting pleasant feelings and influencing our behavior (Huang, Lyu, Xiu, & Peng, 2020). Studies have shown that there is indeed a relationship between appreciation of symmetry and the arising of aesthetic emotions. However, they have considered a limited number of stimuli – mainly basic geometric images – that do not include design objects, architectural elements, monuments, buildings, or squares (Clement, Pearce, Skov, & Nadal, 2021).
Moreover, scientific literature has demonstrated that the possibility of appreciating art and being deeply involved in an aesthetic experience comprises and is emphasized by entering in empathy with the artwork itself. Recent studies have also started to show that this empathy with the work of art, that is – being aesthetically engaged with the artifact – can also turn into empathy toward other people. The aim of the study is to demonstrate that virtual places characterized by symmetry (i.e., architectural buildings, squares, monuments) are more likely to promote more prosocial behaviors via the elicitation of aesthetic emotions (Menninghaus, 2019). In a within-subject design, participants will be exposed to 20 virtual environments representing architectural symmetrical places and to 20 virtual asymmetrical scenarios. After each group of scenarios, participants will be asked to participate in a dictator game, aims at measuring pro-social behavior, in which each participant has to choose the amount of money to be given to a second person. Moreover, self-report questionnaires measuring aesthetic emotions (AESTHEMOS) (Schindler, 2017), general aesthetic interest, (DFAS) (Lundy et al., 2010) and disposition to experience positive emotions, will be administered to participants. We expect participants to donate a larger amount of money to the respondent in the dictator game performed after the vision of scenarios featuring symmetrical forms compared to the dictator game performed after those characterized by asymmetry. We also assume that this relationship is moderated by the role of aesthetic emotions felt by subjects while seeing the symmetrical scenarios vs. the asymmetrical ones: the more the observer feels aesthetically engaged with the symmetrical features of the scenarios, the more he will be prone to donate in the dictator game.

Seyed Mohammad Mousavi Nishabouri, Sapienza University
Emotional evaluation of humanism in Renaissance architecture based on event-related potential and eye-tracking
The end of the Middle Ages gave rise to the humanism in renaissance architecture and made human welfare the fundamental feature of architectural design. These buildings were symmetrical and harmonious with their surroundings. Golden ratio and other precisely mathematical proportions were generally used in their composition, just as in ancient Rome.
In this paper we intend to know the influences of humanistic tendencies in renaissance architecture by investigating emotional responses/aesthetic appreciation and tracking down the eyes’ movement of the viewers. We compare renaissance with medieval architecture that emphasized on theism in order to have a better understanding of the whole subject. Interior space and façade of both styles is studied simultaneously to know the differences between these two architectural aspects.
In this project, we plan to use interior space and façade of Italian renaissance buildings and French gothic cathedrals as the stimuli for the participants (50 males and females). In this study, we intend to use a novel evaluation model based on non-invasive brain imaging techniques in assessment of emotional responses/the aesthetic appreciation of humanistic tendencies in renaissance architecture and gothic era. To put it more precisely, both groups undertake pre-test and post-test evaluations and while one group receive the interior space photos of Italian renaissance and French gothic interior space, the other group received the façade photos of Italian renaissance and French gothic in turn.
The neural elements are used to quantify the aspects that influence on the emotional aspects of the participants by seeing these buildings. To quantify evaluation parameters, this project will use EEG (with a focus on ERP N300 & N400 component amplitude) and eye-tracking technology (fixation time, dwell duration, gaze control, and pupil dilation diameter) to monitor and acquire subjects’ brain activity and eye gaze. This method can be used to objectively assess the uniqueness of aesthetic appreciation and give an objective benchmark for emotional evaluations.

Denisa Berceanu, University of Bucharest
Creating the consumer experience: the impact of quality of life, customer complaining effort, shopping well-being and digital services openness
Last decade and more specifically the COVID-19 pandemic created a favourable environment for digitalization that became a necessary condition in the context of how everyday life is conducted. Even if digital communication and services became a trend and help in brand-customer relationship, brands still have more gaps to pass. Making consumers’ lives easier is still a challenge for companies that must keep up with the consumers’ behaviour changes and improve their experiences continuously. The present research investigates (1) the impact that customers’ habits and digital interactions have on the customers shopping wellbeing and quality of life and (2) the moderation effect that customer complaining effort has in the relationship between the digital behaviour adoption and quality of life. The study surveyed 331 respondents in Romania. Results have shown that digital behaviour influences the consumers’ shopping wellbeing and comes with insights that strengthen the importance of reducing consumers’ cognitive and procedural effort in order to increase their quality of life. The paper discusses the implications for brands that must design easy experiences to gain more loyal customers and also the study’s implications and novelty for the warranty area.

Saul Pop, University of Suceava, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj – Geographical positioning and empathy in regards to social causes. Case study: How does physical closeness to a social issue influence media consumer’s ability to relate to a social story?
In our research, we are starting from the premise that media consumers are more drawn to have a deeper emotional response/connection to social stories that are geographically closer to them in regards to similar stories that are placed further away (Allan, 2005).
We are planning to put together a focus group to test this theory. In order to have conclusive results, we are planning to approach a subject that was reported on different occasions and different states and even continents. We will use photojournalistic images to showcase the stories we are referring to.
For our study, we consider best to approach the subject of children in distress or being abandoned/separated by their families on state borders. Because our focus group is based in Romania we will use samples stories from the Ukrainian-Romanian borders, Mexican-US Borders and stories from the scenes that occurred in Afghanistan in the days of the US’s military retrieval from the country.
We consider these three storylines to fit best in our article because they have all taken place in the recent past and all of them produced strong visual content, photojournalistic images, that really help the media consumer to visualize and understand the story.
The focus group will be formed by 10 to 20 people. Because teenagers and young adults are amongst the highest active users of social media, we plan on constructing our focus group to be formed out of students from ”Stefan Cel Mare” University of Suceava.

4-5pm: KEYNOTE SPEECH

Claudia Muth, Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design
Insightful instabilities. The dynamics of an aesthetic encounter Name, affiliation, title
We take a closer look at a puzzling image, choose a new path through a familiar space, or enjoy the suspense of a harmonic resolution while listening to music. Perception is explorative, embodied, and predictive; it emerges dynamically from the individually and socially shaped entanglement of mind, body and material. Whereas such processes of active sense-making seem to aim at semantic stability, we sometimes expose ourselves to (or even produce) objects and situations that challenge perception or offer a variety of possible meanings. When we encounter an object in an unfamiliar context or when we become aware of an irresolvable ambiguity, we might get a glimpse into our own habitual ways of sense-making. This talk will address the affective dynamics of these “Semantic Instabilities” when experiencing multistability, dichotomy, perceptual indeterminacy, delayed recognition, disorder or ambivalence. Whereas people generally seem to prefer predictable, determinate and ordered objects and situations, means of perceptual disruption in art and design can sometimes be rewarding ways to investigate ourselves. Experiencing these insightful instabilities can motivate intense engagement which, however, does not necessarily resolve the instabilities. Instead, the engagement might even reveal new ambiguities or integrate incompatible elements. This apparent contradiction between our need for stability and our interest in instability is resolvable if we cautiously acknowledge that we might sometimes be driven by the open-ended activity of sense-making itself rather than by the resolution of Semantic Instability.

 

5.30-6.30 pm: KEYNOTE SPEECH

Christer Johansson & Per Olav Folgerø, University of Bergen
Multimodal entrainment: symmetry breaking and change blindness
Face perception shows persistent attribution of beauty, trust and intelligence related to facial symmetry.  We present results from sorting faces for attractiveness or trustworthiness and relate the findings to gender, symmetry and symmetry breaking. Are beautiful faces trustworthy, or does beauty come with a price? The two conditions (like or trust) are demonstrably different. Although correlated, trustworthiness increases with (slight) deviation from symmetry, whereas attractiveness follows symmetry closer (Sofer et al., 2015). Trustworthiness takes longer time to evaluate, indicating more cognitive effort (Christoff & Gabrieli, 2000, cf. Chenier & Winkielman, 2009). Beauty, on the other hand, is judged faster, in the ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (Kawabata & Zeki, 2004; Isizhu & Zeki, 2011).
A second experiment investigated if watching art affected a simple linguistic task – auditory instructions for pressing a left or a right button, presented in a simple or a complex version. The participants were then tested for recognizing changes in the pictures they had been exposed to. After accounting for learning effects, we found that most participants exhibited change blindness. People who were good at detecting visual changes showed different sensitivities to the linguistic instructions. The indication is that interaction between visual processing and linguistic processing as well as and judgements of social attributes exhibit significant individual differences. Aesthetic experience may affect brain activation positively. Increased brain entropy (cf., Friston, 2010) has been related to general intelligence, and one way to increase entropy lies in cross-modal activation through the networks of rich nodes. Aesthetic experience may be functional when investigating novel associations.
References

Chenier, T.  & Winkielman, P. 2009. The Origins of Aesthetic Pleasure: Processing Fluency and Affect in Judgment, Body and the Brain, in M. Skov, & O. Vartanian (Eds.), Neuroaestetics, Amityville, New York, 261-294.
Christoff, K., & Gabrieli, J.D.E. 2000. The frontopolar cortex and human cognition: Evidence for a rostrocaudal hierarchical organization within the human prefrontal cortex. Psychobiology 28, 168–186.  https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03331976
Friston, K. 2010. The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory? Nat Rev Neurosci 11, 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2787
Izhizu, T. & Zeki, S. 2011. Toward a Brain-Based Theory of Beauty, PLoS ONE 6(7): e21852. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021852.
Kawabata, H. & Zeki, S. 2004. Neural Correlates of Beauty, Journal of Neurophysiology 91, 2004, 1699-1705. http://jn.physiology.org/content/91/4.toc
Sofer, C.; Dotsch, R; Wigboldus, D. H. J. & Todorov, A. 2014. What Is Typical Is Good: The Influence of Face Typicality on Perceived Trustworthiness, Psychological Science, 2015, Vol. 26(1) 39–47.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614554955.

 

23 February 2023: DOINA Room

 9 am – 2 pm FILMED DANCE PERFORMANCE: Tabularasa, ©Tabularasa Collective, 2017
Representing experiences of empathy and closeness in contemporary dance
Choreographers&Dancers: Natalie Cohen, Momo Sanno, Emma Ste. Marie, Nelson Torres, Diego Sarmiento, Falciony Cruz, Elina Valtonen, Hend Elbalouty, Samar Abdellatif, Russell Ramirez Project Concept&Coordination: Tudor Balinisteanu

 

The filmed performance (55 mins including Q&As at the end) will run non-stop) between 9 am-2 pm
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEG37jnDIsI

The performance translates the concept of ‘togetherness’ into the language of movement. While acknowledging that empathy is always both cognitive and affective, the dancers explore forms of embodied interaction where affective empathy predominates as well as embodied interaction where cognitive empathy takes precedence. The predominant role of one or the other is illustrated in relation to social choreographies, that is, embodied interactions that have political value. The performance conceptualises affective empathy as being engendered though more improvisatory movement that expresses what Bruno Latour identified as the ‘articulated body’, whereas cognitive empathy is conceptualised as being engendered in more highly formal dance phrases that express Latour’s concept of ‘traditional subject’.
As you watch, check how your mind, body, and emotions mirror those of the dancers, and don’t forget the role of the soundtrack! Or maybe allow yourself to enter a state of flow/ optimal experience!

2-3.30pm Anja Borowicz Richardson, Royal College of Art
Sculpting with object-gestures: an everyday working gesture as an artistic proposition and a space to reimagine material resonances
Presentation followed by a meditative listening session
I have been investigating an idea of an ‘everyday’ working gesture as an artistic proposition. A moment of engagement with an object (human or non-human, a massaged body or a building scaffold) becomes a site of material resonances and a space for new metaphors. I saw this moment as a space of physical resonances and poetic metaphors; as ‘analogue’ liveness vibrating with corporeal echoes, inaccuracies and passions. I call this moment object-gesture. I will present an overview of GestureLabs concept. If the time allows I could include meditative listening : I presuppose an empathic sonic mirroring, where gestic echoes and vocal scores activate neuron pathways in the same way they become activated when observing and imagining the action.

ARTIST BIO Anja Borowicz Richardson is a Polish-born artist working in London. She initially studied engineering which inspired her interests in performing materiality and thinking across taxonomies. In her practice, Anja uses multimodal approaches combining sculptural objects with texts, sound and movement-based technology. Engaging diagrammatic approaches, hidden modes of seduction and expanded metaphors, she stages works and installations that enhance embodied experience of the viewer. She exhibited her practice and research across physical spaces and online platforms, conference settings and artist publications. Examples include performative sculptures for UrbanLab, reading with Sauna Reading Group #6 with Barry Sykes and Harold Offeh, presentations at The Listening Academy 2021, digital platform RCA Research Biennale 2021, creative essay in MaBiblioteque’s publication CARE(LESS). A SUPPLEMENT TO ON CARE, podcast for Fermynwoods Contemporary Art drawing on Corby extraction heritage, diagrammatic exhibit at Spike Island Test Space, and a sonic score for Tao-inspired workshop for lololol.net /Bangkok Biennale. Anja holds MA in Sculpture from The Slade School of Fine Art and PhD in Fine Art (through practice) from the Royal College of Art. Her works were selected for Kenneth Armitage Young Sculptor Prize, Aesthetica Art Prize, TIAF London and City Methodologies [UrbanLab]. anjaborowicz.com

24 February 2023: HORA Conference Room

9-10 am: ART & SCIENCE CONVERSATIONS
Short film followed by Q&A
Pamela Breda, Angewandte University, Vienna
The shape of things to come
Full HD film, 25’ stereo, 2022. The film focuses on the activities carried out at a research center for the study of Artificial Intelligence. Touching upon questions of emotions, feelings, consciousness and sense of being, the film analyzes possible future utopian and dystopian developments of human-AI interactions.

Poetry recitation followed by Q&A
Kerry Priest, Poet
The Poetic Image
Kerry Priest is a poet, sound artist and opera-maker. Her work is often dependent on community sound-making and entangled practice with nature and the prehistoric and mythic layers in the landscape and within ourselves.  Her work is imagistic (perhaps because she has aphantasia?) She will read some of her imagistic poems at the conference and is happy to discuss the relation between sound, image and text.

 

10.30 am-12 pm: ARTS, HEALTH, & ENGINEERING

 Dana Rad, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad
Art and beauty appreciation in the deactivation of adaptive overt narcissism network – a network analysis approach
The relationship between narcissistic personality and art and beauty appreciation has been recently become the focus of research investigations. Adaptive narcissists raise their sense of worth in order to shield oneself from harm caused by others. Because they aspire to be more attractive, healthier, and successful versions of themselves, they frequently have greater success in life than the majority of people. Grandiose and overtly narcissistic behavior are the main recognized characteristics of an overt narcissist, that is currently regarded as a personality disorder that is putting mental health and wellbeing at peril. This research takes a network analysis approach to investigate the role of aesthetic preferences namely art and beauty appreciation in deactivating the adaptive overt narcissism network. On a random sample collection of data from 1101 respondents to an online questionnaire, we have investigated the network analysis of the Adaptive Overt Narcissism Scale (AONS) items. Results indicated the significant expected influence of aesthetic preferences namely art and beauty appreciation in the deactivation of adaptive overt narcissism network. This research could provide new insights on how to lower the negative psychological effects related to adaptive overt narcissism through aesthetic appreciation, the contemplation of art and beauty.

 Oana Geman, University of Suceava & Emanuela Motrescu, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj, University of Suceava
Attention Predictions Related to Cinematic Montage Using Biometric Markers with Application in ADHD Disorder
The following case study targets the live deconstruction of a visual experience correlating attention-related body sensations that emerge with external visual stimuli resulting the improvement of attention. The attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental health disorders among children. It includes symptoms such as difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. The disease appears before age of seven and lasts till adulthood. In contrast with traditional treatment (medication) our work focuses on the usage of biometric marker such as heart rate variability, applied in recovery through other treatments such as art therapy based on cinematic language techniques. We will be able to create a database that can be used to forecast pathologies within the autism spectrum and ADHD using various machine learning algorithm, by expanding the pilot project and including more participants.

Oana Geman, University of Suceava
Neuroaesthetics and Medical Devices
There is a new interest in using principles from Neuroaesthetics to design medical devices that are more aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly for users. The appearance and usability of medical devices can have an impact on patient satisfaction and adherence to treatments.
For example, research has shown that patients are more likely to use wearable medical devices, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches if they are aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. Similarly, the design of medical devices can affect patient adherence to treatment regimens. Overall, incorporating principles from neuroaesthetics into the design of medical devices can improve patient satisfaction, adherence to treatment regimens, and ultimately, healthcare outcomes.

Marius Hagan & Cristian Aghion, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi
Neurological device dedicated to tremor assessment

The tremor assessment by nonconventional methods can highlight certain neurological conditions in an early phase. The paper aims to present a method and a device for measuring tremor parameters (amplitude and frequency) by manipulating a device that includes force sensors, acceleration sensors as well as gyroscopic sensors. It is also of interest to follow the correlation between tremors and hand grip strength for various categories of subjects. The device, spherical in shape, consists of a matrix of force sensors distributed uniformly over the entire surface of the sphere and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) which is positioned in the centre of the sphere. The data generated by the sensors are sent to a processing unit. The tremor evaluation method consists in generating steps of force by shaking the hand and measuring the tremor by means of the IMU sensor. The data processing consists in correlating the tremor signals with the tightening forces.

Venera-Margareta Bucur, Universitatea de Vest Timișoara
The role of aesthetics in socialization and social integration of the insitutionalized elderly

Within the individualized plan of assistance and care that underpins the assistance of the elderly in difficulty for whom it was decided to provide care and assistance either at home, in the family / family environment, or in a residential institution / service, one of the three big areas of intervention are given by socialization and social integration (along with medico-social care activities and recovery / readaptation / rehabilitation activities). Socialization and social integration, through the motivations to live they provide, contribute by far decisively to the quality of life of the elderly (including the shaping of a good / satisfactory subjective health) and to the protection of the elderly against various forms of mistreatment.

Considering the role that, throughout the millennia of human existence, the aesthetic has played, the ways and forms of its manifestation, the emotion generated and which removed the human being from the animal area, as due to its congeneric coexistence at least with homo sapiens, they cannot be ignored in any process that regards / frames / shapes the human being.

For this reason, it is very important to know if the aesthetic has anything to do with socialization and social integration in general, if it can influence it and in what way, and in particular, if it can influence and in what way the socialization and social integration of the institutionalized elderly person who invariably experiences a double mourning of separation (from his family and from his usual native environment).

Given that a quantitative research could only provide a “snapshot” of the process at the time of the research or at most a tendency or a trend, we opted for a qualitative research that can provide us with the comprehensive resource we need to develop later practical approaches to the socialization and social integration of institutionalized elderly people from an aesthetic perspective. We based our approach starting from the classic statement of Wilhelm Dilthey (1833 – 1911) that in the spiritual sciences, unlike the natural sciences, we are dealing with conscious beings who react to stimuli in the surrounding world according to their representations, their beliefs and values, the specific approach of knowledge is a comprehensive one, of reconstructing the meaning that individuals attribute to their behaviors and taking into account his remark that “We explain things, but we understand people”. As a result, we used the focus-group method combined with the life story. The research group was elderly people institutionalized in the Jimbolia Home for the Elderly, not dependent or semi-dependent on care, who have preserved their fundamental cognitive capacities. This group is representative not only for Timiș County, because the people in it come from several areas of it and have their origin in various cultural areas in the country.

2.30-3.30 pm: NEUROSCIENCE, CREATIVE PRACTICE, AND TECHNOLOGY
Yejeong Mutter, University of Konstanz
Visual Creativity and Beauty
In aesthetic research, especially in the field of creativity, an ongoing debate has taken place on the validity and reliability of expert judgments. The Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT), for example, relies only on a few experts to assess the creativity of laypeople. Accordingly, several researchers assumed that such expert judgments are biased.
To investigate this issue, we addressed to what extent the assessment of beauty and visual creativity depends on expertise level. For this objective, we conducted a beauty and a creativity experiment, each consisting of a production and assessment part. Participants were students, artists, and designers who reported their expertise level. Participants in the production part created pictorial compositions from simple elements, whereas other participants in the assessment part rated the outcomes, with respect to beauty or creativity.
As a result, different picture types were created which significantly affected creativity and beauty ratings. Further analyses revealed, first, different ratings of experts and non-experts.
In contrast to higher-expertise raters, lower-expertise ones preferred pictures with lined-up elements. Second, only the ratings of experts were positively correlated to the expertise level of creators. Experts assessed the creations of other experts as highly creative, whereas non-experts assessed those of other non-experts as highly creative and beautiful.

Pamela Breda, Angewandte University, Vienna
Blurred lives: cognition and feelings in humans-AI interactions
Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is the ability of a program to think, store information, perform human task and learn from experience. The domain of artificial intelligence has significantly evolved over the past decades, founding application in almost every field of individual and collective lives. Computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and translation between languages are now at the basis of current technologies informing our daily routine. The constant improvement of these skills has recently taken a leap in the direction of generating empathic AI: artificial machines programmed to interact with users’ emotional spheres, in order to support mental health related problems, such as anxiety and depression, as well as loneliness. But is it really possible to develop an empathic artificial agent? Can users develop in their turn an emotional engagement with artificial beings? The present essay analyzes the topic of human-AI interactions in order to provide tentative answers to these questions and to analyze possible future scenarios in this domain.

Livia Dobrican & Dan Vîrvara, County Emergency Hospital Cluj-Napoca, Psychiatry Clinic
Drawing as a tool in psychotherapy
Art therapy is a sort of psychotherapy that use the creation of art as a means of expression and communication. In visual art therapy, people can express their feelings and experiences by using materials like paint, markers, or clay. Making art may help individuals absorb and cope with difficult circumstances, as well as support those who are suffering from trauma, mental illness, or physical problems. Art therapists, who are trained in both art and therapy, may help people comprehend the process and the value of their artistic creations. The benefits of art therapy include stress reduction, increased self-esteem, and greater emotional regulation. It may be used by adults and children alike.
A therapist may include drawing in various therapeutic processes to help a client gain a deeper grasp of who they are. Drawing is the process of making markings using an instrument such a pencil, pen, or brush on a surface. It is a fundamental method of visual expression and has many applications in the arts, in design, in illustration, and in technical drawing. Line, shape, form, texture, and value are basic drawing techniques that might vary based on the medium and style (the relative lightness or darkness of a color). Additionally, many painters use other compositional elements into their drawings, such as balance, contrast, movement, and emphasis.

A method called reflective drawing involves the therapist using their own artistic abilities to produce an image that expresses the client’s feelings and ideas. The therapist may ask the patient to explain a particular circumstance or feeling, after which they would sketch something that reflected that description, in addition now artificial intelligence can be used to facilitate the work of the therapist. With the drawing now created, that represents the objective image of client’s thoughts and feelings, it can be initiated a discution which can work as a tool to creat a chanel between the client and his self-image in a particular situation. Used in sequent sessions the library of drawings can depict the personal evolution of the subject, because through the images memories can be accessed easily.
It’s vital to remember that the client should be encouraged to articulate their ideas and feelings while the therapist draws them, and that the therapist should base the drawing on the client’s description rather than their own interpretation.
In conclusion, because art and therapy work better together, results can be attained in a quicker and more enjoyable manner.

Abhishek Gupta, Dayalbagh Educational Institute
Empirical measurement of aesthetic experience of music (online presentation)
Chills or goosebumps, also called frisson, is a phenomenon that is often associated with an aesthetic experience e.g., music or some other ecstatic experience. The temporal and spatial cause of frisson in the brain has been one of the biggest mysteries of human nature. Accumulating evidence suggest that aesthetic, namely subjective, affective, and evaluative processes are at play while listening to music, hence, it is an important subjective stimulus for systematic investigation. Advances in neuroimaging and cognitive neuroscience, has given impetus to neuro-aesthetics, a novel approach to music providing a phenomenological brain-based framework for the aesthetic experience of music with potential to open scope for future research. In this paper, we present an affordable, wearable, easy-to-carry device to measure phenomenological goosebumps intensity on our skin with respect to real-time data using IoT devices (Raspberry pi 3, model B). To test the device subjects were asked to provide a list of songs that elicit goosebumps. Wireless earphones were provided, allowing participants to walk around and dance while listening to their music. (Some subjects moved during sessions). Results indicate that goosebumps were reliably detected by the device after visual inspection of the videos/music. The affective measurement when interfaced with neurophysiological devices such as electroencephalography (EEG) can help interpret biomarkers of ecstatic emotions. The second part of the study focuses on identifying primary brain regions involved in goosebump experience during the musical stimulation.

4-5pm: KEYNOTE SPEECH
Ronald Hübner, University of Konstanz
Beauty is a line: aspects of line aesthetics
Lines of various kind play an important role in design, art, and science. A common use is to depict objects. Early line drawings of objects date back more than 30.000 years and, therefore, stand at the beginning of prehistoric art. Interestingly, we can recognize objects outlined in drawings although the lines are absent in real objects. This indicates that neurophysiological mechanisms have been evolved to extract contours for the economical processing and storage of relevant object information. Nevertheless, in most genres of art, and especially in art theory they hardly played any role until the Renaissance. Only from the mid-Cinquecento contour lines were defined. The German artist and theorist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the first who distinguished different line types. However, it took another hundreds of years until the British artist and theorist William Hogarth (1697-1764) for the first time attributed different degrees of beauty to different line types. Moreover, he has directed the focus to the curvature of lines. Accordingly, his book ‘The Analysis of Beauty’ (1753) can be regarded as the beginning of line aesthetics. Until today, Hogarth’s ideas have a persistently strong influence in many areas of art and design. Another important development for line aesthetics was the paradigm shift from mimesis (nature imitation) to a reception-oriented theory of art in the 18th century, which emphasized the relationship between the artwork and the viewer and increased the interest in the formal properties of an artwork responsible for effects on art appreciation beyond object representation. As a result of this development, lines, their curvature, and their aesthetic value have played an increasingly important role. Fortunately, today we have a wide range of methods for their analysis and empirical study.

5.30-6.30 pm: KEYNOTE SPEECH
Marco Bertamini, University of Padova
 Is symmetry a clear case of an aesthetic primitive?
Across the centuries, and across disciplines, we have many examples of interest in symmetry. It is a fascination that brings together science and art. In terms of theories of aesthetics, Ramachandran and Hirstein (1999) list symmetry as one of eight key principles, and Reber et al. (2004) use it to illustrate the role of fluency in aesthetics. Psychophysics and more recently neuroscience has confirmed that the human visual system is sensitive to symmetry. Detection is fast and efficient, and there is activation in a network of visual areas that is automatically generated every time that symmetry is present in the image (Bertamini et al., 2018).
Given these premises, symmetry lends itself as a unique candidate to be an aesthetic primitive, defined by Latto as a stimulus that resonates with the mechanisms of the visual system (1995). It is also a candidate to illustrate the relationship between aesthetics and efficient coding (Redies, 2008). Many studies have confirmed the role of symmetry in aesthetics, and in perception of beauty (e.g. for human faces, Rhodes et al., 1998).
There are, however, some complications to this story. Reflectional symmetry is special for the visual system, despite similar mathematical properties to other types of symmetry; symmetry does not pop out in a visual scene, and experts often claim not to like symmetry (Weichselbaum et al., 2018).
Comparing explicit and implicit measures, and studying preferences across many classes of stimuli, we see that affective responses to symmetry are not a reflex (an automatic response), despite the fact that brain processing of symmetry is automatic. However, symmetry is strongly associated with positive valence, and this is true for most individuals independently of expertise. Overall, symmetry is a good candidate for an aesthetics primitive if we relax the definition and accept that the link between perceptual responses and aesthetics experiences may bypass awareness, but it is nevertheless indirect.

Jin Xu, Technological University Dublin
Estimating the Time-bandwidth Product of the Linear Predictive Coding Pole Processing Algorithm
The performance of classical time-frequency methods is bounded by the Heisenberg-Gabor uncertainty principle. This principle sets a lower limit on the accuracy with which the time and frequency content of a signal can be known simultaneously. It is expressed as a time-bandwidth product which characterises the time and frequency resolution of the method. In this paper, we investigate the time-bandwidth product of a recently proposed modification to the Linear Predictive Coding Pole Processing (LPCPP) method that has been shown to improve the accuracy and robustness of the method through pole processing. Monte Carlo experiments are used to analyse the time-bandwidth product of LPCPP method. We demonstrate that the LPCPP method’s time-bandwidth product is much lower than that of the LPC method. Experimental results also indicate that the LPCPP method outperforms the LPC method by accurately identifying the frequency components given the same time resolution.

 

24 February 2023: DOINA Room

 

9-10 am: NEUROAESTHETICS IN THE FIELD
Mamadou Drame, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar
Tudor Balinisteanu, Goldsmiths, University of London
Challenges of Field Work in Remote Societies in Africa

We discuss some of the practicalities of organising fieldwork in Africa, with an emphasis on working in remote societies of the Serer-Safen from Senegal. We are currently in the process of organising this fieldwork for Tudor Balinisteanu’s doctoral project on the Origin of Rhythm in Mutual Entrainment, under the supervision of Karina J. Linnell. Most research on the origins of rhythm focuses on external entrainment. Current views adopt non-adaptive and adaptive perspectives on the origins of rhythm. In non-adaptive views musical rhythm is an evolutionary by-product, an ‘auditory cheesecake’ enhancing pleasure, or a by-product of audiomotor entrainment developed for vocal learning. In adaptive views, rhythm expertise favoured sexual selection, or evolved from the evolutionarily advantageous experience of bipedalism. Far less studied is the hypothesis that rhythm developed from emotional synchronisation in the mother-infant dyad. The project argues that dance evolved from mother-infant mutual entrainment, shifting the prevalent focus from entrainment to external beats to mutual entrainment as the origin of rhythmic capacity. Mutual entrainment and dance share the experience of closeness (or self-other overlap) rooted in affective and cognitive empathy (or feeling with another). In developmental perspective, mother-infant synchronisation will be modelled as a closeness-producing mechanism. At first, closeness is produced from affective empathy; in time, infants develop cognitive control which partly inhibits automatic responses, including affective empathy, but increases cognitive empathy. Aligning the developmental and evolutionary perspectives, the project proposes that dance evolved as means to rehearse and periodically re-establish balance between emotional closeness and pro-social (‘cognitive’) closeness.

10.30 am-12 pm: Presentation of the Neuroaesthetics: A methods-based introduction publication project. Potential contributors sought!

Tudor Balinisteanu, University of Suceava
Attend this session if you are interested in becoming a contributor to the first Neuroaesthetics course manual in the world, contracted for Open Access publication with Palgrave Macmillan.

2.30-6 pm: PRESENTATION AND FILMED PLAY

(the play will run continuously after the presentation and until 6pm)

 

Presentation: Marius Alexandru Teodorescu, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
Neuro-Aesthetics – a view on presenting the mind on stage
This presentation aims to discuss about representations of the mind on stage, starting both from our practice-as-research at Craiova National Theatre in 2019, with the play Under (re)Construction, by Marco Tesei, but also from other various examples in both theatre literature and practice. The presentation is a mix between an academic one and an artistic one. Academically, the presentation will highlight the difficulties of trying to make the audience understand that a specific section of a play takes part in a character’s mind and also the challenges of using stage-design and acting technique to create aesthetically relevant renditions of the mind on stage. Moreover, the paper will present examples of such uses in modern theatre history. Artistically, the paper will present the author’s work process for his work at Craiova National Theatre and will underline some key aspects of the show, where the difficulties presented in the first part of the paper were clearly posing problems to the team of artists.

Short presentation of the show: Trauma affects each and every one of us, regardless of measure. It can be overcome, firs of all, by integrating ourselves in a new normal, as each of sees normality. In 2015, a woman was found wondering at the edge of Torino, Italy, without remembering anything about her past. She did not seem hurt in any way. She did not have any documents, mobile phone, handbag or anything that could aid the cops to establish anything about her. Nobody declared her missing. Now she lives with the Psychiatrist Gianny Cusich, whose patient she was from the very beginning of her road to recovery. From this day onward, she starts her battle with regaining her old life, because she now feels un-empowered, she lacks a purpose in life and human value. This play is the drama of her finding her own identity through reconciling with past events.

25 February 2023: HORA Conference Room

9.30-10.30 am: SPECIAL SHOWCASE SESSION: NEUROAESTHETICS IN IRAN

Led by Morteza Izadifar, Institute of Medical Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Institut Mensch & Ästhetik, Coburg University of Applied Sciences, who will introduce the following authors and presentations:

Sara Sharghi Lavan,  University of Tabriz
Personality and musical instruments: a personality differences study between musicians and non-musicians
Several studies have demonstrated the effect of musical instruments on the personality of musicians. However, a few studies so far have compared the affective-neuroscience personality of different musical instruments players with their non-musician counterparts. We aim to compare the affective-neuroscience personality of professional musicians of classical Iranian percussion instruments, classical Iranian string instruments and their non-musician counterparts. We compared 90 subjects, including 30 professional percussionists, 30 professional string musicians and 30 non-musician counterparts. The measuring scale of these three groups was the Davis affective-neuroscience scale questionnaire. The results indicate that there is a significant difference between the personality of percussionists and string instrument players in the component of sadness (p≤ 0.5), but no significant difference was found between the amount of sadness in string instrument players and their non-musician counterparts. Also, there is a significant difference in the anger component between percussionists, string players and non-musician counterparts (p≤ 0.5). Such a significant difference in the component of care can be seen in the comparison of percussionists with string musicians and non-musician counterparts. According to our findings, the personality of the two groups of percussion and string instrument players were different in three subscales. We also conclude that our scale result can help choosing the musical instrument that suits the personality of the music learners.

 Hassan Rahnama, Azad University of Tehran
Neurofashion: aesthetic appreciation of women footwear product design as a success predictor using eye tracker and EEG
Neuroaesthetics is still a developing subject of study. Although it draws on research from a variety of subjects, it is quickly establishing itself as a distinct area of study in its own right, with a growing number of journal articles and books contributing to its fundamental themes. Neuroaesthetics of fashion (Neuro-fashion) is also a topic that has drawn lots of attention in recent years. From one hand, it is difficult to qualitatively analyze the design effect of a wearing product. From another hand, new advancements in non-invasive brain imaging methods have given us a roadmap to know more about the aesthetic appreciation in the mind of viewers. In fact, the traditional method of analyzing the aesthetic appreciation of a wearing product is evaluated by constructing a semantic scale that employs degree quantifiers such as fairly, very, moderately, and rarely. This strategy might be able to track people’s emotions and feelings, but it is somewhat subjective.  In this study, we intend to use a novel evaluation model based on non-invasive brain imaging techniques in comprehending the aesthetic appreciation in women’s footwear design as a success predictor in the market. The neural elements are used to quantify the aspects that influence the appearance of the women’s footwear products and the evaluation indicators. To quantify evaluation parameters, this project will use EEG (with a focus on ERP N300 & N400 component amplitude) and eye-tracking technology (fixation time, dwell duration, gaze control, and pupil dilation diameter) to monitor and acquire subjects’ brain activity and eye gaze (50 participants/female and male). This method can be used to objectively assess the uniqueness of products’ aesthetic design quality and give an objective benchmark for women’s footwear design improvement. In a nutshell, this experiment is conducted independently in a laboratory setting with 50 female and male participants divided into two groups. ERPs and brain topographies are analyzed to evaluate the aesthetic appreciation of the female footwear products among the two genders. We assume that the lack of tendency for aesthetic appreciation is associated with greater amplitudes of the N300 and N400. The study demonstrates that the N300 and N400 and also the timing of gaze control/ dwell duration are effective neural indicators for evaluating aesthetic appreciation in fashion and textile design and accordingly as a success predictor in the market.

 Azadeh Sharifi Nowghabi, Bojnord University, Art University of Isfahan
Comprehensibility of environmental graphic pictograms in hospitals: A combined ERP & eye-tracker study
Graphic design as a visual communication representation plays a vital role in our daily life. A pictogram is a “special language” which is developed by signs, symbols, and other graphic representations. Pictograms are commonly used in public places such as airports, public transportation stations, hospitals, etc., which facilitate navigation with the help of other visual guidance elements. Since an understanding of the concepts of these visual symbols requires previous cultural background or education, they may not be understood rightly. In other words, viewers may suffer from visual errors and have a different understanding and reception.
Designers should be familiar with all iconic information before the design procedure to eliminate mistakes and enhance the satisfactory quality of a pictogram scheme. Particularly, what makes pictograms essential for signage is an effective image-related graphic symbol for competent communication. Although pictograms are structured based on design principles and the designer’s creativity, the graphic sign layout process is not complete until the message is conveyed, therefore, the viewer plays a key role in graphic design. Furthermore, it is very difficult to measure the correctness of communication and the accuracy of the message that the sender (graphic designer) conveys to the recipient (addressee) through the image. So far, there is no validated standard for the construction and readability of visual symbols. Consequently, errors occur inevitably in the process of non-verbal communication using pictograms.
It should be noted that traditional methods such as questionnaires cannot be a suitable touchstone to evaluate the effectiveness of a sign. This paper aims to describe the incomprehensibility reasons of pictograms in hospitals from cognitive neuroscientific methodologies perspective. We also intend to discuss pictograms as different representations by using common elements to be understood easier by people. In this experiment, having evaluated the selected pictograms by the participants by EEG/EREP & Eye-Tracker techniques, the pictograms are redesigned according to the Gestalt principles and re-evaluated by the new participants. With the help of both Graphic Semiology and Gestalt, the information is conveyed clearly and allows visual concepts to be comprehended by any user—without significant difficulties or ambiguity of interpretation. This paper is proposing a neuroscientific method which is connecting the pictogram design principles with the underlying neuronal mechanism of the viewers’ signs comprehensibility. This experiment is conducted independently in a laboratory setting using non-invasive brain imaging techniques/EEG and eye-tracker technology. This project will track subjects’ brain activity and eye gaze (60 female and male participants divided into two groups (mean age: 35 / 30 females, 30 males)) by using EEG (with an emphasis on ERP N300 & N400 component amplitude) and eye-tracking technology (fixation time, dwell duration, gaze control, and pupil dilation diameter).
As a result of using this method, the comprehensibility of environmental graphic pictograms in hospitals can objectively evaluate and establish independent benchmarks for improving the design. We assume that the lack of comprehensibility of pictograms is associated with greater amplitudes of the N300 and N400. The study demonstrates that the N300 and N400, and also the timing of gaze control/ dwell duration are effective neural indicators for evaluating the comprehensibility of the signs.

 Razieh Eslami, University of Allameh Tabataba’i
Neuropsychological effects of biophilic interior design on emotional valence: An ERP study
Despite the instinctive desire of the human brain to develop a connection with nature and other forms of life, the majority of our time is spent indoors. Therefore, we will not be able to meet this need adequately. Biophilic design is an innovative approach to design that uses natural resources to create a sense of harmony between modern architecture and the natural environment. Moreover, aesthetic appeal and natural qualities have also been central to some of the most influential studies in neuro-architecture. Neuro-architecture is an interdisciplinary field that combines neuroscience with architecture to explore individuals’ cognition and emotional responses in relation to their surroundings. Through the application of neuroscientific methods that allow a thorough examination of brain function, neuro-architecture investigates the relationship between environmental stimuli and human emotion. The two-dimensional model of human emotions typically includes emotional valence and arousal. The purpose of this study is to investigate how valence and arousal interact in the visual processing of interior images from biophilic and non-biophilic environments on the neural levels. We plan to accomplish this objective by using Electroencephalogram (EEG), a non-invasive technique that assesses the electrical activity in the brain by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) while subjects observe images. In particular, we intend to measure early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP), two components of ERP that reflect emotional valence and arousal in visual images. The EPN measures visual attention and early encoding of affective discrimination in positive and negative emotions. In previous studies, it was shown that EPN occurs between 150 and 350 ms after stimulus onset, resulting in an increase in negativity in the temporo-occipital region. A stimulus’s emotional intensity is strongly correlated with the LPP, which is most noticeable around 400-600 ms after the stimulation has been delivered but can last for up to one second after the stimulus has been offset. Moreover, this study will compare this novel methodology with traditional methods commonly used in architecture and environmental psychology. To accomplish this goal, we intend to compare the results of our EEG experiment with the questionnaires we will give our participants afterward. This will enable us to assess their subjective opinions as well.
In summary, the objectives of this study are to present participants with images of diverse interior spaces that are either biophilic or non-biophilic in random order and assess their emotional valences and arousals in order to examine the influence of natural aesthetics on the human brain. Furthermore, we investigate how much of our emotional experience is conscious by comparing these objective findings to the results of a subjective questionnaire.

11 am-12.00pm: NEUROAESTHETICS AND SPORTS
Moderated by Prof Catalina Ababei, “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacău 

Romeo Tanase & Gina Tudor, “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacău
Aesthetics of motion in dancesport
There is an increasing interest worldwide for dancesport over the last decades. Synchronization, controlled muscle tone, coordination – all of these present dancesport as an alternative for spending one’s leisure time, educating both mind and body, involving the participants in a conglomerate of unique, vibrant, and energetic movements. The rhythm of music puts the body into motion, infiltrating in the arms and legs and taking over the dancer’s skills. In regards to elite performance and requirements for the aesthetic of motion, in dancesport there are major differences between amateur beginners and junior professionals.

Teodora Palasanu, Victor Popescu & Bianca Enache, “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacău
The specific expressive means of dancing in antiquity
Dancing was and is a worldwide phenomenon, playing a considerable role in the life of all peoples. Starting from Grosse’s definition of primitive people’s dancing, as being “the ultimate and most effective expression of the primitive aesthetic sense,” we considered appropriate a deeper analysis of the way of expressing inner feelings caused by live events, such as: joy, sadness, or adoration, which hopefully will shine a light on a new understanding of the gestures expressed through rhythm and character.
Dancing is not a simple unification of sports and art. It represents a type of art that includes all the beauty of the world the people express through one single instrument – their own body, using the beauty of sound and rhythm, of the feelings, of strength, speed, endurance and vigor, color, sexuality, and the beauty of the harmony between all of these.

Radu Ababei, Alina Ababei, & Catalina Ababei, “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacău
Study regarding aesthetic training in various sports
Over the last few years there was an explosion of new sports branches that try to find and defend their place in the larger family of sports, many of them benefiting from undeniable aesthetic components. Many of the new sports come with music or have “imported” motor structures from other arts: ballet, visual arts, acting, etc.
An increasing number of sports has even introduced an artistic assessment of the athletic performance, its weight being sometimes equal to the assessment of the difficulty or the correctness of the performance.
Sports events such as competitions of figure skating, dancesport, gymnastics, etc., are transforming into events bordering art and sports. The current audience wants beauty, and the elite motor act has an undeniable aesthetic component.
Our research highlights the weight of aesthetic training in the training macrocycles of sports that at a first glance do not appear to have a core aesthetic component, at the same time analyzing the emergence of new sports branches with aesthetic components over the last few years.

2-3.30pm: AESTHETICS IN THE ART SPACE

Vicentziu Puscasu, Dunărea de Jos University of Galați
Transmedial aesthetics and the concept of curatorial (post)authority: considerations regarding Monica Turcu`s artistic project – Plastic Pandemia 2019-2022
The following research is focused on the subject of Romanian ephemeral art installations, in which the curatorial challenge of deconstructing meaning and form is able to reconfigure a dialectical type of exhibition (a so-called meta-exhibition). Based on several characteristics of late postmodernism, I will debate the theoretical framework that complements this type of artistic events. The research process focuses on Monica Turcu`s artistic project, which involved a trans-medial approach, and consisted of placing artworks in an abandoned industrial environment. My research covers the aesthetic status and functions of such artistic practices, proposing an alternative interpretation of the documentation-as-exhibition-medium structural paradigm. The hypothesis states that this type of events may be conceptually reverse-engineered into autonomous non-visual and non-material entities, which can further be exhibited and used as standalone artifacts (chronicles or archives of artistic installations). My methodology is centered around a documentarist curatorial approach, which sums up critical theories from various disciplines (phenomenology, aesthetics, media, artistic practice). The research is contributing to the Foucault`s archaeological and genealogical methods of exhibition making, stating that curatorship can function as an independent and cohesive stand-alone form of art, which may enrich and winden the spectrum of aesthetic experience. Considering the fluctuating tensions within the Romanian contemporary art scene (artist vs. curator), I propose a hypothetical post-democratization (Ranciere) of the visual experience by deconstructing the notion of artistic authority (Kojeve). Like other curatorial paradigms, among the epistemological turn (Descartes, Kant) or the linguistic turn (Mitchell), my presentation regards the concept of artistic „curatorial authority” as an alternative method of exhibition making. The presentation and my final article will include a brief projection of such artistic events.

Ioan Pop-Curșeu & Ștefana Pop-Curșeu, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
Colours, (dis)harmonies and chromatic symbols in theatre and film comedy. Highlights
There is no doubt that it is common sense to claim that chromaticism plays a dual function in cinema and theatre (stimulating the affectivity of the spectators, constituting symbolic systems of general value). However, investigating this truth in depth – from the viewpoints of cognitive psychology and aesthetics – is a potentially scientifically relevant approach. For example, it can be observed that horror films have a chromatic individuality, constituted over time according to the thematic and stylistic specificities of the genre.  German Expressionism relied on a subtle dialectic of light and shadow to create an impression of mystery and blur the boundaries between fiction and reality. The colour horror film relied on the clever complementarities of black (the colour of night, darkness and evil) and red (the colour of blood and violence). The question is whether similar phenomena can be observed in other genres, for example in comedy. Aristophanes  and the masters of commedia dell’arte already sensed the power of colour in creating comic effect through costumes and masks. Systematic observations on the development of the comic genre in theatre and cinema, as well as the outline of some experimental studies we wish to undertake, show that so-called cold colours are avoided in comedy, except in situations where tension needs to be defused. If one accepts the hypothesis that the comic genre is at the antipodes of horror, it means that from a chromatic point of view comedy should use the complements (or opposites) of black and red, namely white and green, and shadow should be replaced by light, even glare. We will illustrate this hypothesis with concrete examples (Green White Green 2016). In comedies, tonic, dynamic colours are preferred, or those with a certain amount of kitsch. The ubiquitous orange in Wes Anderson’s films is undoubtedly also linked to a certain comic tonality, intimately linked to the American director’s imaginary universe. Pink is part of the colour system of romantic comedy, where it plays a role both in creating atmosphere and in producing a critical distance from the subject matter (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1953, Pretty in Pink 1986).

Ana-Maria Ovadiuc, University of Suceava
For an illustrated world animated page of old book manuscript
The project The Magic Art of a Book aims to highlight the illustrations from the old manuscripts from the BATTHYANEUM LIBRARY in Alba – Iulia. In the project The Wonder Art of a Book, I participated as a volunteer and I made a digital reinterpretation of old manuscript. The resources used for the animation project were taken from the website of the National Library of Romania, but also images from the BATTHYANEUM LIBRARY museum, in Alba – Iulia. The manuscripts digitized by the National Library of Romania were used as a digital resource for animation. The tasks that were assigned by the coordinators to the illustrators for animation were focused on several general criteria.

1. Target group/audience. Who are the visitors to the museum?

They are interested in:

• The history of book illustration, both in Romania but also in Europe;

• The future of book illustration and its role in book industry marketing.

2. Age of group / audience.

• visitors of all ages mainly aged 25-40 years, but also visitors between 3 and 70 years old.

3. Direct beneficiaries:

• children, students between the ages of 14 and 25, who usually look on digital screens in the library;
• Professional illustrators, designers, writers, editors, curators, etc..;
• General public interested in documenting Romanian Heritage.

The work plan focused in particular on a few questions. How visitors can be attracted. How to capture their attention by using digital solutions. Interactivity? Tactility? Animation? Illustration concepts? For this digital animation project I conceived several scenes with animated characters of group, in this case visitors, who come to the museum and enter a space full of old books.

The scenes proposed by me to be animated:

The characters in the group move one by one at a time after another.

The group characters are animated. The group shall be formed.

The book becomes animated and turns into a flying book.

The animated book sits on the collar of an old character on a painting in the museum.

The characters in the paintings in the museum are animated. It moves different parts: eyes, hat, etc..

The characters in the group of visitors follow the book. Enter animated graphics dot lines, the digital drawing that represents the museum LIBRARY-BATTHYANEUM Museum in Alba – Iulia.

He interacted between the group leader and a pencil. An anime is a pencil.
The guide that leads the group of visitors is used in conjunction with a pencil to insert visitors into a manuscript page.
A manuscript page is animated. Other animated elements appear flying geese.
The manuscript page was taken from the https://www.manuscriptorium.com/ resource.
The manuscript page was taken from the https://www.manuscriptorium.com/ resource.

Magdalena-Simona Truscan, University of Suceava
Multimodal choreo(Graphy) in (non)digital comics
The present paper aims at analysing the juxtaposition between the elements of (non)digital comics through multimodal literacy. Comics are seen as a sequential representation of visual and linguistic signs similar to the cinematic technique of adjacent frames. Yet, the when (temporal) and the where (spatial) coordinates in comics allow the reader to consistently follow and understand the narrative process despite its staccato rhythm and lacunary form. Moreover, comics may create meaning via different modes: various framing displays, text, drawings, dialogue, posture, emotions, noise, colour, thus conveying these serialised stories a sense of aesthetic content as well.

4-5pm: PSYCHOLOGY AND ACTING

Diana Cozma, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
The Actor’s Active Listening
We know that a sound becomes a meaning carrier only when it is actively listened to. As M. Scott Peck observes, listening is essential for there is no real communication in the absence of real listening. During rehearsals, the actor immerses himself in a state of listening in order not only to develop his concentration, observing ego, distributed attention, capacity to empathize with/distance from a character, but also to establish relationships with himself, with the other actors and with the spectators. Furthermore, the actor’s explorations aim at improving his ability to create sequences of physical and vocal actions which might tell a different story to every spectator. So, the actor communicates through a series of actions which the spectator perceives and to which he/she reacts according to his/her personality and personal experiences. Only if the spectator forgets himself/herself in the fictional world of the performance, only if he/she truly listens to the story told by the actors and the director, he/she may experience a change of state. The theatre performance, experience of an experience, speaks to the spectators through its myriads of meanings, telling many stories at the same time, but it is the story told in the language of the actions which is universally embraced as it transcends spatial, temporal and linguistic boundaries, addressing the spectators as human beings, that is beyond geographical, social or cultural conditionings. In order to enhance his capacity to create physical-vocal actions, the actor has to listen actively to the sounds of both his inner and outer worlds.

Marius Alexandru Teodorescu, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
A Novel Theatrical Management Approach and Aesthetic approach based on the Process Communication Model
The Process Communication Model® (PCM) is a tool developed by Taibi Kahler that helps define six personality levels present in every person, which allows us to understand our communicational and motivational needs. Despite it having been extensively used management in many contexts, especially by The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States and in multi-national corporations around the world, PCM has scarcely been applied in arts’ management. Using the model in theatre brings with it unique difficulties as well as opportunities because performance art not only implies the interactions between employees off-stage, where the common rules of management apply, but also on stage. Here, actors become characters and stressful or critical situations are purposefully created, so the interaction between employees becomes even more tense. It is the purpose of this article to highlight the means by which PCM can help managers and directors navigate the complex social interactions in theatre making. Also, our aim is to highlight the complex interactions between management, psychology and aesthetics, pointing out different casting configurations, based on the PCM model, depending on the main aesthetic directions in theatre today.

5.30-6.30 pm: AESTHETICS & PHILOSOPHY

Sandra Cătălina Brânzaru, University of Bucharest
What it is like to read a fictional mind?
Readers of fiction can feel connected to fictional characters: they can feel sorry for them, they can be happy for them, they can even cry for them. Are fictional characters real to us? What is it that moves us? I will explore the idea of experiencing what it is like to be (in the mind of) a fictional character, in terms of qualia and umwelt. The assumption that we are provided with direct access to a character’s experience can prove problematic – I will discuss the issues that arise and give a tentative solution on how to understand that sense of immediacy, which binds us to the fictional mind.

Adrian Nita, ,,Constantin Radulescu-Motru” Institute of Philosophy and Psychology
Imagination and perception in the 17th century
We aim to review the main ideas about imagination and perception as they were understood in the 17th century, with a stronger emphasis on the dispute between rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz) and empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume). We will highlight the extension of the solution proposed by the two fundamental orientations of the 17th century thinking by highlighting some contemporary applications.

Eugenia Bogatu, State University of Moldova, University of Bucharest
Perception and truth in Peirce and James
Pragmatism is distinguished, in the frames of the history of philosophy and art, as the theorizing of truth as being useful, effective. From this point of view, the relationship with perception seems to be particularly challenging: how could something be true not on the basis of how it is perceived and understood, but on the basis of a criterion apparently unrelated to reality? Starting from this question, we will present some considerations about perception, imagination and their role in art and philosophy – to pragmatism.

Eugen Bucur, Universitatea de Vest Timișoara
The role of the archetypal elements in the consitution of aesthetic feeling
The fundamental hypothesis of this approach is that the aesthetic or the aesthetic feeling, being simultaneous with the development of man as a being, cannot have forms of manifestation originating only from contemporaneity (or classicism, romanticism, modernism, etc.), since they should have had parallel evolutions and not sometimes congeners.
In order to try to understand what can constitute the support not only of the emission of the aesthetic feeling, but also of its success to the public (that is, its transmission and reception) through the work of art, we opted for a qualitative analysis based on several methods pluri- and interdisciplinary, not losing sight of the possible transdisciplinary developments (apud Basarab Nicolescu) on the work of the greatest Romanian poet – Mihai Eminescu, in parallel with successful Romanian creators already belonging to the universal heritage.
In this approach, we used discourse analysis, content analysis (based on quantitative research method), documentary analysis, historical analysis, narrative analysis, textual analysis, etc. filtered through anthropological analysis, psychocriticism and analytical psychology (cf. C.G. Jung) as far as possible.
Thus, in an attempt to penetrate the deep mechanisms of the beauty generated by the Eminescu’s creation, we could not avoid the equivalent forms of manifestation of the same forms / phenomena manifest in the work of creators belonging only apparently to different horizons (Ciprian Porumbescu, George Enescu, Constantin Brâncuși, Jules Verne or Mircea Eliade, etc.).
Consequently, as a preamble we considered mandatory to approach the Eminescu’s creation from the perspective of its deep supports, both symbolic and of another nature but with similar “ages” in the human mind; we based our approach not only on authorial logical deductions, but on the very cutting statements of the authors we refer to, or of some of their exegetes. Likewise, we have not avoided the possible origins of the work of art in the conjunction / confrontation between the sacred and the profane and its possible developments in the human psyche and its evolution.

The subsequent development of the approach to the rough formation and then the subsequent chiseling of the aesthetic in Eminescu’s works could not omit the linguistic and philosophical approaches, calling on the syncretism of the methods mentioned above, precisely for a more coherent understanding. We also tried to subordinate the call to analyze the contents to understanding, interpretation, rethinking and explanation. This was facilitated by Eminescu’s work itself, as in the references to time and temporality, for example.

Oana Papuc, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
Investigating digital subcultural genres with the help of liminal aesthetics, semiotic assemblages and Internet linguistics
The current presentation aims to highlight the importance of interdisciplinary research that ought to be awarded to the artistic and linguistic output of Internet-based niche-genres. By taking stock of the myriad forms of individual expression as they are presently unfolding, in the larger framework of Internet-based sociolinguistic practices (David 2010; Williams 2006), some of which are frequently encountered on Youtube; while others are coded as short-lived Instagram or TikTok community-driven trends, we might just be able to take the pulse of current reconfigurations of new identities emerging in a postpandemic world.
Moreover, the author argues that many of these microcultural aggregates can be understood through the use of a Cultural Sociolinguistic lens (Cotrău, Cotoc, and Papuc 2021). Thus, what is proposed is the application of an adapted framework of qualitative analysis to the creation of so-called ‘liminal aesthetics’ and in particular, the vaporwave genre. This framework would include deciphering the symbolic meanings of these hypersubjective and superdiverse environments (Hall, 2014), with the help of Pennycook’s “semiotic assemblages” (2017), Victor Turner’s updated theory of liminality and disambiguation of our current cultural economy. The latter would be done by highlighting the shift towards a continuous process of creation, distribution and consumption of online cultural artefacts that give rise to particular cultural trends associated with all things “glitchy and decayed” (Loignon and Messier 2020).

25 February 2023: DOINA Room

10.00 am-12.00 pm and 1-3 pm: ART DISPLAY

Yejeong Mutter, University of Konstanz
What you are seeing is what you believe that you are seeing
Artwork display of Brain Galaxy
This art project is an immersive virtual reality experience that explores the visual beauty of neural networks. The galaxy serves as a metaphor for the complex and interconnected nature of these networks, with star-like neurons flying through space. The project aims to showcase the aesthetic appeal of neural networks and to inspire a deeper appreciation for the complexity and elegance of these systems, by giving the audience an immersive experience, feeling as if they are exploring inside the brain. The use of virtual reality technology allows for a unique and captivating way to engage with the subject matter, providing a sense of awe and wonder at the intricacies of neural networks.

26 February 2023: HORA Conference Room

9.30-10.30 am: Session Title

Student-led round table: Why Neuroaesthetics?
Antonina Farțade, Cristina Jitaru, Sanda Chiperi, Florina Dima, Diana Golici, Miruna Dârlău, Georgiana Baciu, “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacău

Students will ask experienced staff challenging questions about the need for developing the neuroaesthetics discipline. The questions are:

1. Why should I study neuroaesthetics?
2. What are my employment chances with neuroaesthetics?
3. How do you see, at this point, the connection between theory and practice, in neuroaesthetics? Does theory prevail practice, or is it the other way around?
4. We are students of physical education and sports and kinetotherapy and special drive ability. In which of these programs do you consider necessary – or not – the study of neuroaesthetics?
5. In our activity an important part is played by the feedback we give children, but even more important is the feedback we receive. Through the study of neuroaesthetics, could we gain superior abilities regarding this type of networking?

 11 am-12.30pm: Summative Forum

Tudor Balinisteanu, University of Suceava
Oana Geman, University of Suceava
Ema Motrescu, University of Suceava
Diana Izdrui, University of Suceava

The University of Suceava Neuroaesthetics Lab team will host a summative forum, highlighting the inspiring moments of the conference and promoting exchange of contact details to support further contact and/or collaborations.