Neuroscience & Art

Neuroscience & Art 

This week’s lecture and readings focused on the overlap of Neuroscience and Art - and Neuroaesthetics. Neuroscience is the study of the brain. We looked at three major topics surround the brain - (1) the discovery of the brain and its’ structure and chemistry, (2) dreams and the unconscious mind, and (3) min-altering chemicals. We finally focused on the art and beauty that goes along with the study of our brains. The brain has such a central function in our body and there is so much mystery surrounding it - there is no surprise it has fascinated and inspired artists for centuries.

It is weird to think that aside from our physical appearance and the genes that makeup our bodies - our personalities and emotions, the things that make each of us unique and individual, all is housed and takes place in our brains.

Vesna started with the history of the study of the brain. I was surprised to hear that the brain has only been seriously studied for about a century. Ramon Ikahal and Franz Joseph Gall were two critical figures in the study of brain anatomy and structure. Later, Santiago Ramon y Cajal made huge advances in the study of neurons and their connections.

I am still always fascinated how large of an history drugs like LSD have in our history. In lecture, Vesna talked about how in looking to see what affected the brains’ function, Albert Hoffman first created the psychedelic LSD. A Dangerous Method, the movie Vesna mentioned in lecture, is a perfect example of the use of scientific knowledge used as details within an artistic display of a film.

Karen Norberg and Margerie Taylor

We looked at some artists including Karen Norberg and Margerie Taylor, that take this fascinating organ - the brain - and make art inspired by it. Their works are based in scientific facts sourced from a variety of publications including MRI imaging and dissection records.

Vesna also focused on the popular technique - Brainbow - which uses fluorescent proteins to distinguish individual neurons from others in the brain. It is a breakthrough technique because it is noninvasive and allows for extraordinary discovery.

In the reading, “Neuroculture” by Giovanni Frazzetto and Suzanne Anker, I liked the line they say - “the interaction between art and science offers an opportunity to make the scientific community and the public aware of the social and ethical implications of the scientific advances in neuroscience.” Suzanne Anker is also known for her project “fMRI butterfly” which we looked at in lecture.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/neuroscience-art-brain/

One artist that I think is fitting for this week’s topic is Rebecca Kamen, a dyslexic artist who turned neurons into butterflies in her piece “Butterflies of the Soul”. The work was inspired by neuroscientist Santiago Ramon y Cajal - who Vesna talked about in lecture.

http://aplus.com/a/drawing-self-portraits-on-lsd-trip?no_monetization=true

A while back I saw on Facebook that someone posted a link titled “Artist Took LSD And Spent 9 Hours Drawing Herself To Show The Effect Drugs Have On Brain”. I think this is a good example for this week’s topic as well.

Overall, this week we looked at not only the physical elements of the brain in art but also the unconscious and psychedelic elements that have impacted the world of art.

CITATIONS

Rolfes, Ellen. "Portrait of a dyslexic artist, who transforms neurons into 'butterflies'" PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 17 May 2017.

Vesna, Victoria. “Neurosci + Art." UCLA, Los Angeles. Lecture.

Anker, Suzanne, & Giovanni Frazzetto.  "Neuroculture."  Perspectives.  Volume 10. Nov. 2009.             Macmillan Publishers Limited.  Article.

Bakutyte, Justina. "Artist Took LSD And Spent 9 Hours Drawing Herself To Show The Effect Drugs Have On Brain." A Plus. N.p., 01 Jan. 4016. Web. 17 May 2017.