They say when infants (or young children) fall down, they look up to their mother or father, to see how she or he reacts. More often than not, a parent will have an anxious and frightened facial expression–”Oh no, my baby is hurt!”–which, in turn, causes the child to cry.
Yet, if the parent is cool and collected–”Oh it’s just a little scratch, you’re a brave kid.”–then the child will stand up, and react accordingly…cool and collected.
The same rule applies to art. Although art in and of itself is subjective, we react based on the image the artist reveals to us, especially when it comes to clear and strong facial expressions.
