Paint by Numbers Survey by Komar and Melamid

The Galleries at Moore Most Wanted Painting
The Komar & Melamid Survey

About the Survey and the Paint by Numbers Project

What is your favorite color? Blue Green Red Black Purple Brown Pink Tan White Gray Yellow Mauve

What is your next favorite color? Blue Green Red Black Purple Brown Pink Tan White Gray Yellow Mauve

When you select pictures, photographs or other pieces of art for your home, do you find you lean more toward modern or more toward traditional styles? Modern Traditional

If you had to choose from the following list, which type of art would you say you prefer? Asian American African European Not Sure

Which statement applies to you more? When choosing pictures photographs, or other art for my home, I usually try to select pieces that fit into the general decor of my home. When choosing pictures photographs, or other art for my home, I focus on whether or not I like the piece.

Would you say you prefer older or newer objects to decorate your home? Older Newer


Would you say you prefer seeing paintings of wild animals like lions, giraffes, or deer, or that you prefer seeing paintings of domestic animals like dogs, cats, or pets? Wild Animals Domestic Animals

In general, would you rather see paintings of outdoor scenes, or would you rather rather see paintings of indoor scenes? Outdoor Scenes Indoor Scenes

Which of the following outdoor scenes appeals to you most? Forests Water Rural Scenes City Buildings

Which season would you like to see depicted in a painting? Winter Spring Summer Fall

Which of the following types of indoor scenes appeals to you most? Fruit Flowers Household Objects People Animals

Do you tend to prefer paintings that are related to religion or those that are not related to religion? Religious Not Religious

Which of the following is closest to your view? Paintings should serve some higher goal. Paintings can just be something a person likes to look at.

Which of the following is closest to your view? I prefer paintings that are realistic-looking. The more they resemble a photograph, the better. I prefer paintings that are different-looking. If they're realistic, I might as well be looking at a photograph.

Do you prefer paintings that exaggerate the reality or dimensions of objects we already know, or ones that feature imaginary objects that have no connection to everyday life? Exaggerate Reality No Connection to Life

Do you prefer seeing bold, stark designs or more or playful, whimsical designs? Bold, Stark Playful, Whimsical

Do you tend to favor paintings with sharp angles or ones with soft curves? Sharp Angles Soft Curves

Which patterns do you like better: geometric patterns or more random, uneven patterns? Geometric Patterns Random Patterns


Do you like to see expressive brush strokes on the canvas, or do you prefer that the surface of the canvas be smooth, more like a photograph? Brush Strokes Smooth Surface

Do you like to see colors blend into each other, or do you like it when different colors are kept apart? Blended Colors Kept Apart

Every color has a wide range of shades. Take the color blue, for example. An artist can use a bright, vibrant shade like a royal blue, a pale, muted shade like a light blue, or a darker tone like midnight blue. In general, which would you say you prefer: vibrant, paler or darker shades of color? Vibrant Pale Dark

In general, do you enjoy paintings that have a more serious or a more festive mood? More Serious More Festive

And how about the painting itself—Do you like it to be busy and contain lots of people or objects, or do you like it to be as simple as possible? Busy Simple

How about the size of paintings—Do you prefer larger of smaller paintings? Larger Smaller

Some paintings are of famous, historical people and others are of more ordinary people. Do you generally prefer paintings of famous people or or paintings of more ordinary people? Historical People Ordinary People

If you prefer famous people, do you prefer figures from a long time ago like Lincoln or Jesus, or more recent figures like John F. Kennedy or Elvis Presley? Long Ago More Recent

Do you prefer paintings that are predominantly of women, of children, or of men, or doesn't it matter? Women Children Men Doesn’t Matter

Thinking back to the paintings of people that you have liked in the past, for the most part, were the figures working, at leisure, or were they posed portraits? Working At Leisure Posed

Which do you think you like better— a painting of one person or of a group of people? One Person A Group

And from what you've seen, would you say you prefer paintings in which the person or people are nude, partially clothed, or fully clothed? Nude Partly Clothed Fully Clothed


About the Survey and the Paint by Numbers Project Komar & Melamid use their art to define and reevaluate the fundamental beliefs and systems of contemporary art and culture. No doctrine—corporate, political, or aesthetic—eludes their ironic scrutiny. Perhaps inevitably, in 1993, Vitaly Komar & Alexander Melamid focused on our poll-driven society and faith in market research. The pair announced that they would discover what a true “people's art” should look like, then hired Marttila & Kiley, Inc., to conduct a survey in the U.S of preferences and taste in painting. Having studied the data and learned what Americans want, the artists introduced their own version of Paint by Numbers; they created America’s Most Wanted painting and America’s Least Wanted painting. The next stage of the project was expanded market research. People in more than a dozen countries around the globe were polled, and the artists created a Most Wanted and Least Wanted painting for each country. (Return to top)

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