Mass-Produced Original Paintings, the Psychology of Art, and an Everyday Aesthetics / Progress in Mathematics (PDF)

This book examines the contribution of mass-produced original painting to the psychology of art, psychological aesthetics, and art criticism. Mass-produced paintings are an inexpensive, accessible, ubiquitous, and hand-painted popular art by anonymous artists or teams. Sold in an array of outlets, ranging from flea markets to shopping centers to cruise ships, they decorate hotels, offices, and homes. Addressed is their neglect in current scholarship in favor of a nearly exclusive investigation of the high arts and their audiences, as represented by museum paintings. Lindauer contextualizes his analysis by tracing the historical origins of this type of painting, popular art in general, and their evolutionary trajectory, exploring issues including: the impact of art and artists' creativity on viewers; the overemphasis on originality and name recognition; what is art and who can be called an artist; and the extension of aesthetics to include an everyday kind. Martin S. Lindauer is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the State University of New York, College at Brockport, USA, and the author of several books and many articles related to the psychology of art. He received a Teaching Award from the State University of New York, was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Health, University of Michigan, USA, and a Fulbright Scholar in Berlin.