Cataloging Restorative Qualities of Place-Based Environmental Art in Howe Library
Logan, Andy Maxwell
Logan, Andy Maxwell
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Abstract
This study explores one way of advancing the design of university community study spaces to meet the needs of their mentally fatigued students. Spending time in the natural environment can benefit mental wellbeing, and the act of viewing nature through art can provide a similar effect. Installing artwork with familiar themes is important in sculpting an individual’s experience in a space to restore fatigue, but indoor spaces rarely intentionally engage with a sense of place when selecting artwork to be installed. By working with local student artists, art pieces that highlight the place-specific natural environment were installed in a barren study room in the basement of UVM’s central student library. Here, students were surveyed about their experience to confirm restorative effects evident in other similar studies and gain preliminary insight into potential qualities that might be responsible for this experience. Then, students were probed about the specific art qualities that contributed to their restorative experience. This study uses explanatory methodology to understand why certain artwork can provide restorative properties in these high-stress spaces. Content themes of place-based environmental works, such as nature, familiar subjects, and ocular details, as well as material themes such as texture and color quality that grabbed the attention of participants and contributed to a sense of calm. Findings from this research project suggest what kinds of artwork campuses should consider installing and what restorative properties require more research.
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Date
2025-01-01