Mass-Produced Original Paintings, the Psychology of Art, and an Everyday Aesthetics

This book examines the contribution of mass-produced original painting to the psychology of art, psychological aesthetics, and art criticism. Mass-produced paintings are an inexpensive, accessible, ubiquitous, and hand-painted popular art by anonymous artists or teams. Sold in an array of outlets, ranging from flea markets to shopping centers to cruise ships, they decorate hotels, offices, and homes. Addressed is their neglect in current scholarship in favor of a nearly exclusive investigation of the high arts and their audiences, as represented by museum paintings. Lindauer contextualizes his analysis by tracing the historical origins of this type of painting, popular art in general, and their evolutionary trajectory, exploring issues including: the impact of art and artists’ creativity on viewers; the overemphasis on originality and name recognition; what is art and who can be called an artist; and the extension of aesthetics to include an everyday kind. 


The book concludes with directions for future research in the popular and traditional arts, the psychology of art, and, more broadly, the ties that transcend barriers between science, the arts, and the humanities. It will appeal to students and scholars from across the fields of psychology, sociology, philosophy, art history, and cultural, media and communication studies.

​“Why do so many “unsophisticated” people love the kind of art that critics and connoisseurs demean – like cheap paintings sold in retail stores? If this kind of "Hallmark" art is so popular, why have psychologists of art ignored it?  A provocative read that makes us question the sharp divide between “great” and ordinary art.” (Ellen Winner, Professor of Psychology, Boston College, USA, author of How Art Works: A Psychological Exploration)

“Martin Lindauer adds to our understanding of art, art criticism, aesthetics, and creativity with a unique perspective, namely by examining a kind of everyday art that you might see in a mall or hotel. This focus on mass produced art eliminates name recognition as an influence on a viewer’s judgment. Lindauer addresses fascinating questions, including several concerning the impact of expectations based on the fame of the artist and others concerning the evolution of art. His is a fresh approach and his thinking, as is true of his other volumes, is provocative and convincing.” (Mark A. Runco, PhD.  Director of Creativity Research and Programming, Southern Oregon University, USA, author of Creativity:Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice.)


“Psychologist Martin Lindauer takes factory-produced, mall paintings seriously, a first for a book length study. Drawing upon evolutionary aesthetics, everyday aesthetics, cultural studies, and popular culture studies, and concepts like psychic closeness, he has gone into malls to conduct empirical research into ordinary people’s pictorial preferences. By demonstrating the differences but also the marked similarities of viewer response to mass versus museum paintings, the book is a theoretically informed and data-based challenge to modernist aesthetics and elitist views of museum art.” (Paul Duncum, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois, USA, and Adjunct Professor, University of Tasmania, Australia, Author of Picture Pedagogy: Visual Culture to Enhance the Curriculum)


“Lindauer’s book is unique for its interdisciplinary focus on mass-produced original paintings and for advancing a number of controversial issues, including the importance of originality, creativity, and signature recognition for the casual observer.  The book, supported by original research, expands the boundaries of aesthetics by including the everyday kind. Lindauer is well qualified, having published four books on the arts, literature, aesthetics, and creativity. His work will be of interest to specialists as well as general readers attracted to the popular arts.” (Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD. host of The Psychology Podcast and author of Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization)


“The book raises a host of issues, not only in the meaning of originality by mass-producing "beauty," but in raising the question of what may be gained in the diffusion of paintings across mass culture. Here is a new perspective on the growing interest in the aesthetics of everyday life, as well as engaging social, economic, and psychological issues of mass-produced art.” (Arnold Berleant, Professor Philosophy (Emeritus), Long Island University, USA, author of Aesthetics Beyond the Arts)


“Prof. Lindauer' who has a distinguished career in psychology, has written a book that is interdisciplinary, ground-breaking, free of jargon and a pleasure to read.  Philosophers of art, aestheticians, psychologists who do empirical aesthetics, sociologists of art, art critics and artists will find that this study of the status of mass-produced painting within the world of art provides a welcome new perspective.  Lindauer convincingly shows that there IS something of value to what is often called ‘kitsch’.” (Thomas Leddy, Professor, Department of Philosophy, San Jose State University, USA, author of The Extraordinary in the Ordinary: The Aesthetics of Everyday Life) 

Martin S. Lindauer is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the State University of New York, College at Brockport, USA, and the author of several books and many articles related to the psychology of art.  He received a Teaching Award from the State University of New York, was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Health, University of Michigan, USA, and a Fulbright Scholar in Berlin.