Do Art Students Evaluate Paintings based on the Economic Dimension of Value? : An Investigation using Good Art and Bad Art

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether art students would evaluate paintings based on the economic dimension of value (EDV). Art students (N = 193) were asked to rate 14 paintings (including seven good arts and seven bad arts selected from the Museum of Bad Art) on four scales of aesthetic evaluation. They were also asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their degree of the EDV. The results demonstrated that the EDV was related to aesthetic evaluations for both good and bad arts. These results suggest that art students with the high EDV appreciate paintings based on the EDV and focus on whether paintings would be sold.