Computational analysis and eye movement experiments of white space in Chinese paintings

摘要

In this paper, we report a study examining the effect of white space on perceiving Chinese paintings. Our goal is to investigate whether white space in Chinese paintings is not simply a blank background space but actually meaningful for aesthetic perception. We applied a computational saliency model to analyze the influence of white space on viewers' visual information processing and conducted an eye movement study to confirm significance of white space. Specifically, we analyzed paintings of a well-known artist Wu Guanzhong, and we also collected users' subjective aesthetic rating. Our study results showed that white space is not just a silent background: it is intentionally designed to convey certain information and has a significant effect on viewers' aesthetic experience.