B02 Art & Emotion

Collaboration between Cognitive Science and Human History to Elucidate the Process of Creative Artifact Creation (Art & Emotion Group)

How have cultural artifacts and art been created through evolution and history, and how have they been positioned in the process of civilization formation? Additionally, how have individual objects and art been created and expressed, and how have they transformed and expanded the human mind, brain, physicality, and emotions? Furthermore, how are diversity and coherence of expression produced? In our group, we will elucidate these formative and causal processes in the co-creation relations between humans and objects, through collaboration with cognitive science and studies of human history. In close collaboration with other groups within the field, we aim to clarify the cognitive processes by which material (tools, figurative expressions, art, musical instruments, etc.) and immaterial (verbal expressions, music, ideas, etc.) expressions are created and the underlying mechanisms of the mind, brain, body, and emotions that underlie them, using experimental and computational methods.

Regardless of whether material or immaterial, the study will pursue the sources of representations to be created in relation to cognitive functions such as memorability, typicality, and salience. Moreover, we will elucidate the cognitive processes involved in hand and eye movements in specific creative acts leading to the expression of artifacts, and the mechanisms of cognition, brain, physicality, and emotion through their long-term transformation. In addition, we will conduct computational studies using deep learning on the morphological diversity and historical period and geographical distribution of patterns and decorative motifs expressed on objects and cultural artifacts such as earthenware and clay figurines. Thus, our research project will empirically and theoretically explore five main points: (1) sources and creation of ideas, (2) technical acquisition, mastery, and plasticity, (3) generation and development of play, (4) diversity of expression, and (5) evaluation and emotion of creative expression. Finally, we aim to achieve an integrated understanding of the co-creative mechanisms of material and mental processes through research focusing on both intra-individual processes such as skill acquisition and maturation, and cultural and bio-demographic diversity.