*Also Supernormal Stimulus or Superstimulus

This is a term I first ran across while reading some of Carl Jung's work a while back. I found it interesting because I think it's the subject of a great deal of art.

Basically, we're programmed to respond to certain stimuli (often more attractive stimuli when it comes to art), and we respond even stronger when the stimulus is exaggerated.

So... in our man-altered world you end up with Australian beetles mating with beer bottles, for example, rather than with their proper mates... and other such things.

But, as it pertains to people and art--make-up, outlandish breast-enlargements, comic-book heroes, junk food, etc. all owe a certain amount to our preprogrammed tendencies, which never anticipated such exaggeration.

I often see art as merely a pursuit of supernormal sign stimuli. We're 'improving' upon nature in order to create something that's more compelling, arousing, titillating, etc. than the subject normally would be.

Of course, sometimes we go too far... as is often the case with female depictions... but we all have our own thresholds and (for some) fetishes.

Anyway, just thought this was something interesting to chew on.