The Wow Factor in Art

I've been saving this one for a rainy day with no art news. The original bulletin from Leicester University is verbose and as clear as mud (title link), but it boils down to this: the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and The Art Fund are supporting research into our visual perception of art, our "aesthetic response" to works in museums and art galleries. You and I know it as The Wow Factor. The university's Department of Museum Studies and Department of Engineering will be involved and a new PhD student dedicated to the project: Ms Jennifer Binnie. The aim is to develop a new interdisciplinary approach to the perception of gallery art. With no psychologists involved? Pardon me while I titter. Haw, haw, haw! This overly ambitious project promises a few belly laughs in a decade's time, when Ms Binnie publishes her doctoral thesis. What a waste of money! Hey, Jenny, d'you think sex might have something to do with it?