Stability of Art Preference in Frontotemporal Dementia

We examined aesthetic preference for reproductions of paintings among frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients, in two sessions separated by 2 weeks. The artworks were in three different styles: representational, quasirepresentational, and abstract. Stability of preference for the paintings was equivalent to that shown by a matched group of Alzheimer's disease patients and a group of healthy controls drawn from an earlier study. We expected that preference for representational art would be affected by disruptions in language processes in the FTD group. However, this was not the case and the FTD patients, despite severe language processing deficits, performed similarly across all three art styles. These data show that FTD patients maintain a sense of aesthetic appraisal despite cognitive impairment and should be amenable to therapies and enrichment activities involving art.

I know what I like: Stability of aesthetic preference in Alzheimer's disease

Two studies explored the stability of art preference in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and age-matched control participants. Preferences for three different styles of paintings, displayed on art postcards, were examined over two sessions. Preference for specific paintings differed among individuals but AD and non-AD groups maintained about the same stability in terms of preference judgments across two weeks, even though the AD patients did not have explicit memory for the paintings. We conclude that aesthetic responses can be preserved in the face of cognitive decline. This should encourage caregivers and family to engage in arts appreciation activities with patients, and reinforces the validity of a preference response as a dependent measure in testing paradigms.

The Operatics of Cabiria (1914): Intermediality in Early Italian Cinema

This article presents an intermedial analysis of the Italian silent film Cabiria by Giovanni Pastrone within the cultural context of its time. Employing theories developed by Werner Wolf and Irina Rajewsky, the article lays out the intermedial and transmedial relationships of Cabiria with other media, in particular opera, literature, and painting, and illustrates that operatic references are incorporated recognizably during key moments of the film. By contrasting these references with specific cinematic techniques, Pastrone demonstrates that film is able to elicit an operatic sensation and that film is a distinct and valuable form of art.