The Gray Cube Effect on Street Art Appreciation: Preliminary Findings on the Role of Art Figurativeness—A Brief Report

This study investigated the impact of viewing context on the aesthetic evaluation of street art (the gray cube effect), considering viewers’ art interest and place familiarity, and explored the role of street art figurativeness. Eighty participants viewed six street artworks either on the street or in the laboratory. They rated their place familiarity with each artwork's location and their aesthetic evaluation of each artwork, and they reported their art interest. Results supported the gray cube effect, showing higher evaluations for artworks seen on the street, especially representational pieces with figurative elements. These effects were unaffected by art interest or place familiarity. The findings suggest that an optimal viewing context combined with figurative artistic content enhances appreciation of street art. Limitations are discussed.