Research Interests

• Empirical Aesthetics
• Cognitive Science of Art Appreciation
• Processing Fluency Theory
• Audible Design

Bio

Benno Belke (b. 1977) works at the intersection between cognitive science, sound art, and audible design.

He obtained a PhD in Psychology from the University of Vienna after graduating from the Free University Berlin (Dipl. Psychologe), Middlesex University London (B.A. hons Sonic Arts), and having studied at the UK National Film and Television School (MA Sound-design for Film and Television). 

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His empirical articles on cognitive-phenomenological foundations of visual art experiences are widely cited in psychological science (e.g., Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4th ed.), in philosophical aesthetics (e.g., Lopes, 2018, Aesthetics on the Edge, Oxford University Press), as well as in the popular scientific literature (e.g., New Scientist, 2012, issue 2873).​​ He is currently a reviewer for Frontiers in Psychology, Plos One, Psych, and Art & Perception. From 2003-2005 he was a deputy project leader at the Collaborative Research Centre Aesthetic Experience and the Dissolution of Artistic Limits (Sonderforschungsbereich 626) at the Free University Berlin.

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His audience centered sound installations were exhibited in festivals in Germany (e.g., Autocenter, Berlin), France (e.g., Carte Blanche, Bordeaux), the Netherlands (e.g., Art Pie International, Amsterdam), and the UK (e.g., Expo Leeds). In 2012 he was commissioned a 16-channel sound-field composition for the Platz der Weltausstellung in Hannover with support by the North German Broadcast (NDR) and the German Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes).