Overview
- Published in Frontiers in Physics, the University of Oregon–led study analyzed pour-paintings from 18 children aged 4–6 and 34 adults aged 18–25.
- Fractal dimension and lacunarity metrics showed adults produced denser, more varied trajectories, while children created simpler trails with larger gaps.
- When compared to Jackson Pollock’s works, children’s patterns aligned more closely than adults’ under the quantitative analyses reported.
- The authors hypothesize Pollock’s balance-related movement patterns produced childlike multiscale traces, drawing on art-historical accounts of his clumsiness.
- The team did not record painters’ motion and plans future “Dripfest” experiments with wearable sensors; viewers in this study favored simpler, more open patterns typical of the children’s output.