Perception of Digital and Physical Sculpture by People with Dementia: An Investigation into Creative Potential

Abstract: The perception of three-dimensional sculptural forms is quite different from two-dimensional art works such as painting and drawing. Though both are considered forms of artistic production, the distinction is the tactual and kinesthetic sensations of the three-dimensional sculptural forms. The understanding of the perception of sculptural forms adds another dimension to cognitive and emotive qualities embedded in art. The emotions evoked while observing, knowing, touching, and feeling a sculpture, as well as the experiences of working, creating, and producing one, affect an individual’s perception. People with dementia who develop visual and perceptual difficulties may gradually have a different experience of sculpture. The materiality of a sculpture and its tactile engagement have the capacity to influence their perception. With spatial errors, changes in colour, and misperceptions, there is a possibility that they see, appreciate, and experience, in a different way, both physical sculptural forms and those that are mediated through digital technology.