Discover your artistic personality to the rhythm of your heartbeat

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) offers its visitors a unique way of knowing their artistic personality based on data measuring their heartbeat.

Once the heart rate monitor is attached to the wrist, the experience Art Rate Monitor can start. The device records the location throughout the museum visit, on the four floors from several beacons, attached to the walls of certain works.

We carried out the experiment with three - employees with different backgrounds.

It is in a calm atmosphere that Camile Gauthier, Cécile Bernard and Mouaad El Yaakabi take part in the game. Bracelets on their wrists, they contemplate a whole range of works of art, ranging from classic styles to contemporary ones including those linked to First Nations.

Camile, originally from Northern Ontario, is more interested in the real aspect of works of art linked to historical facts, unlike portraits of characters which speak to him less.

I like to look at art and compare it to things I’ve seen in the past

“In 2024, we still want to show what we do; I find that a painting like that is the equivalent of an Instagram post and I like the anthropological side of it all: the world doesn’t change and we always want to show what’s funny” , he declares.

Understanding art through its past

As the visit continues in the museum galleries, Mouaad and Cécile, originally from Morocco and France respectively, feel rather challenged by more modern or abstract works, echoing a family member or memories of travel.

“It reminds me of Iceland, of the Icelandic landscapes that I saw when I left, there are a lot of memories and what’s more, with the effects of light on the shapes, I find that it’s really realistic”, underlines Cécile in front of a painting of the Group of Seven.

“In a work of art, I look for emotion, it can be vivid, can bring joy, repulsion or just tranquility and calm […] understand what process the artist went through to arrive at his canvas”, explains Mouaad.

Once the visit is over, Camile, Mouaad and Cécile receive an individual report by email. The digital document includes information such as which artworks they spent the most time looking at, which ones raised or lowered their heart rate the most, and even their favorite color palette.

Since the launch of theArt Rate Monitor last September, more than 3000 visitors participated to experience, says Trish Popkinthe director responsible for visitor reception at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).

This gives us an idea of ​​what people like to see. For example, gray colors are the most popular right now. It’s an interesting indicator, I think. But for each visitor, it’s just a chance to learn a little more about what makes their heart tick while they’re here she notes.