Abstract:
Aesthetics, among other criteria, can be statistically examined in terms of the complexity
required for creating and decrypting a work of art. We propose three laws of aesthetic
complexity. According to the first law of aesthetic complexity, too condensed encoding
makes a decryption of a work of art impossible and is perceived as chaotic by the untrained
mind, whereas too regular structures are perceived as monotonous, too orderly and not very
stimulating. Thus a necessary condition for an artistic form or design to appear appealing
is its complexity to lie within a bracket between monotony and chaos. According to the
second law of aesthetic complexity, due to human predisposition, this bracket is invariably
based on natural forms; with rather limited plasticity. The third law of aesthetic complexity
states that aesthetic complexity trends are dominated by the available resources, and thus
also by cost and scarcity.