Swedish Gallery Holds First Art Auction Based On Emotions
Kosta Boda, a glassworks art gallery in Kosta, Sweden, recently did an experiment at an art auction that is unlike any before: bidders, instead of bringing cash to spend on the over €25,000 worth of art at the auction, needed to only bring their emotions.
Participants were placed in a closed-off room and then hooked up to machines that read their heart rates and how much they were sweating in a galvanic skin response test. In the sixty seconds the participants spent looking at the art, a reading would reveal how moved they were by the visuals. The bigger the response, the more likely they were to win the piece of art.
The result, shown in the video below, had a number of bidders laughing or getting emotional at the sight of the works, leading to a higher likelihood of success in the auction. One winner, who was in tears during the viewing, exclaims to her friend over the phone, "Hans, I won! I won the nicest one, too!"