Aesthetics and the Artistic Enterprise Re-Deconstructed
Laguna College of Art & Design Aesthetics Blog
Download HFAP Forms and Examples Below
The Havlicek-Ferguson Aesthetic Profile, Single - Excel Format
The Havlicek-Ferguson Aesthetic Profile, Multiple - Excel Format
| Craft skill | Degree of technical difficulty and craft skill exhibited. Ex: Escher |
| Expressive depth | Extent to which multiple levels of significance or representation are present simultaneously. I must admit that I really don't know what this means but this term is widespread and seems compelling to me. This makes it particularly interesting. Ex: Van Gogh |
| Neurobiological stimulus | Degree of emphasis on direct sensory stimulation and elementary perceptual processing. See VS Ramachandran on "peak shift" and other basic neurosensory responses". Ex: Mondrian |
| Psychobiological stimulus | Degree of emphasis on the arousal of elementary psychobiological states like fear, disgust, anger, sexual arousal, etc. See psychophysiology and sympathetic nervous system. Ex: Vargas |
| Archetypal stimulus | Degree of emphasis on classic, universal, or common mythical symbols. See archetypal images and symbols. Ex: Michelangelo |
| Intellectual appeal | Degree of emphasis on intellectual or abstract themes. Ex: NASA |
| Ideological appeal | Degree of emphasis on specific ideological themes, such as religious, political, social, or philosophical systems. Ex: Rivera |
| Expression of an alternative world | Degree to which the artwork evokes a world other than the one we live in; either bizarre or in some sense plausible. Ex: Escher, Dali |
| Novelty | Degree of emphasis on unusual, surprising, or unfamiliar elements. Ex: Christo |
| Creativity | Degree of inventiveness. Ex: Dali |
| Complexity | Degree of effort, concentration, and persistence required to apprehend the relationship among different elements. See Physiological Responses to Visual Complexity. Ex: Mandelbrot |
| Social alliance | Degree of emphasis on any type of social relationship. Ex: Rockwell |
| Economic value | Cost or market value. See most expensive art. |
| Comfort or threat | Extent to which feelings of either comfort or threat are evoked. Ex: Bosch, Max |
| Nostalgic association | Extent to which emotions are evoked by association with past experiences, places, people, or relationships. Ex: Rockwell |
| Cultural Significance | Importance to a culture or society. Ex: Ross |
| Controversy | Degree of controversy regarding the theme or other elements. Ex: Duchamp |
