AUTHOR=Vickhoff Björn 

TITLE=Why art? The role of arts in arts and health

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.765019

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.765019

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>This article is an answer to a report called “What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being?” The authors conclude that the arts have an impact on mental and physical health. Yet, the question of the role of the arts remains unanswered. What is and what is not an art effect? Recently, <italic>embodied</italic> theory has inspired articles on the perception of art. These articles have not yet received attention in the field of Arts and Health. Scholars in psychosomatic medicine have argued for an approach based on recent work in enactive embodied theory to investigate the connection between the body and the mind. The present article examines how key concepts in this theory relate to art. This leads to a discussion of art in terms of empathy—the relation between the internal state of the artist and the internal state of the beholder. I exemplify with a conceptual framework of musical empathy. Implications for health are addressed.</p>