Visual art inspired by climate change—An analysis of audience reactions to 37 artworks presented during 21st UN climate summit in Paris

affects the audience. Specific features of art, such as its ability to evoke emotions, are said to differentiate this form of communication from standard climate change communication derived, for example, from a scientific report [4, 5]. This could increase engagement in the topic, given that inaction towards climate change and other environmental changes of global concern has been linked to the lack of emotional involvement of the audience [6]. Thus, art may serve as an interesting component in a society’s response to global environmental change, functioning as an emotional motor of behavior change. A literature review by Roosen, Klo¨ck- ner, and Swim [4] compares art to other means of climate change communication. They argue that contemporary environmental art can, for example, disrupt habits and routines, offer the spectator space for reflection, strengthen a sense of group identity among the spectators and thereby overcome psychological barriers for taking action. Based on these initial ideas, this paper studies if art inspired by environmental changes relates positively to the support of cli- mate action in its audience, utilizing a climate change-related art event as a study arena. The paper further delves into exploring the potential mechanisms behind the effects art might have and analyses features of the artworks that resonate particularly well with the psychological key variables identified. Empirical studies addressing the psychological link between climate change-related art,

audience responses, and behavioral change have shown that art can trigger both positive and negative emotions for the environment [7]. Moreover, art was found to facilitate communica- tion between stakeholders [7–10] and to increase engagement in group discussions [9, 11]. One study included a large selection of artworks, which allows examination of features of dif- ferent artworks and their impact on the audience [—ANONYMIZED—]. Utilizing a large international climate change art festival in Paris (ARTCOP21), which was organized in parallel to the political negotiations of COP21, the study investigated psychological responses to 37 dif- ferent artworks (including a large variation of styles, art forms, and presentation venues).— ANONYMIZED—found that being confronted with certain environmental artworks corre- lated to different emotional reactions, grouped them accordingly in clusters, and investigated the thoughts participants had when seeing the artworks. Furthermore, they identified charac- teristics of artworks in the clusters to relate them to the emotional and cognitive reactions that went along with experiencing the artworks in the clusters. The researchers conclude that color- ful artworks, which make the cause and effect of human behavior visible while offering solu- tions and showing sublime nature related to the strongest emotional and cognitive reactions relative to the artworks in the other clusters. The present study is based on the same sample and data but takes a very different analysis

perspective. Whereas the first study focused primarily on artwork features, the present study aims to go beyond the relative description of emotional reactions between clusters of artworks and dig deeper into the psychological mechanism of processing the confrontation with climate change inspired artwork on the level of individual audience members. Using Multilevel Struc- tural Equation Modelling, we research relations between the psychological reactions, art, and its potential impact on spectators. We first outline the context for our work by describing where we see the potential for environmental art in climate change communication. Next, we suggest a model, which incorporates the psychological variables and the way we expect them to influence pro-environmental behavior in the form of policy support. Afterward, we test the model and finally discuss the results and their implications. Exploring the psychological potential of climate change-related art An art experience is often described as creating a special connection to its viewer through con- veying meaning, eliciting pleasure, or by offering a manner of communication [12]. Pelowski, PLOS ONE Visual art inspired by climate change — An analysis of audience reactions PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247331 February 19, 2021 2 / 18 Funding: This research was funded to CAK by the Norwegian Research Council (www.nfr.no) in the Climart project (project number 235223). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.