Slow Looking at Still Art: The Effect of Manipulating Audio Context and Image Category on Mood and Engagement During an Online Slow Looking Exercise

In the past two decades, ‘slow looking’ has emerged as an engaging art-viewing approach used by museums around the world as part of their in-person and online programming, but there has been little empirical inquiry into the precise effects of the practice. This study represents the first such attempt, exploring reported impacts of slow looking within an online context. Specifically, the study examined the effects of two factors — audio context (control, meditation, historical) and image category (photography, representational, abstract) — on mood change and aesthetic engagement. A total of 141 participants completed the online exercise, first selecting a series of three artworks within one of the image categories and then viewing each for 3 min per work while listening to the randomly allocated audio context. Participants reported feeling significantly more pleasant and relaxed after the exercise. Representational artworks were chosen the most and also contributed to greater overall aesthetic experience scores, and the historical condition was found to lead to greater levels of cultural understanding and engagement. Future investigation within an ecologically valid setting is currently underway, examining the contribution of different live viewing elements to the slow looking experience.