Neurosci + Art

          There is a very fascinating relationship between the mind and art. The brain is a vital organ that is responsible for necessary life functions like breathing, blood flow, and heartbeat. The brain also regulates our alertness and responsiveness to the world. For thousands of years, many scholars would attempt to figure out the mystery of the brain, but without any proper tools to examine the organ, attempts would be abandoned early on (Neuroscience and Art Part I). For example, Aristotle would classify the brain as a mere cooling mechanism for the blood, but this definition still appeared to leave the mystery of the brain unsolved (Neuroscience and Art Part I).

https://www.thecentriclab.com/people-and-the-

workplace-content/an-evolution-of-work

       
          Later, physiologist and neuroanatomist Franz Joseph Gall would be the first to come up with the study of phrenology, which is the field of thought that examines the shape and size of the skull to determine one's character and abilities. Gall theorized that the brain was divided into 27 individual organs and each section would be associated with different human faculties, such as individuality, language, self-esteem and others (Neuroscience and Art Part I). Ultimately, Gall's idea of localized functions would indeed be correct when a French surgeon would later show that a speech sensor in fact did exist in the brain (Neuroscience and Art Part I). Therefore, Gall's theories contributed substantively to the field of medicine, as he found that the brain does not operate as a whole, but rather has numerous parts that function differently. 

https://study.com/academy/lesson/franz-joseph-

gall-phrenology-theory-definition-lesson-quiz.html

       
          Moreover, Santiago Ramon y Cajal, a Spanish neuroscientist specializing in neuroanatomy, made a critical contribution to the scientific community by offering a different understanding of the nervous system. Considering neurons as mysterious butterflies of the souls, Cajal observed the wings of the butterflies as passive integrators of synaptic information (Neuroscience and Art Part I). With his love for drawing at a very early age, Cajal used art as a medium for expressing his scientific advancements. Therefore, Cajal is a great example of an artist and scientist bringing the Two Cultures together, as his famous drawings can be found in textbooks today. 

https://publicinsta.de/hashtag/Cajal

          Similar to Cajal and his idea of the butterfly, artist Suzanne Anker's engagement with MRI scans would give rise to what she called the FMRI butterfly. Being drawn to studying the interaction between art and neuroscience, the motivation behind Anker's project was to specifically highlight the meaning of image production (Frazzetto and Anker 817). Only working with 15 similar brain scans, Anker placed an image of a butterfly at the center of the scans and also superimposed different Rorschach-test-type inkblots (Frazzetto and Anker 817). This all contributed to the creation of an optical illusion for the viewer, making it appear as if the butterflies were different when in fact they were all identical.

https://mappingthemarvellous.wordpress.com

/2009/07/21/natural-affinities/

       
          As this week's lecture materials have shown, the connection between art and neuroscience is manifold and very impressive. I find it very intriguing that an organ like the brain can be used as a medium for sparking artists' creativity, curiosity, and giving rise to art work that allows society to view the human body in a new light.

Sources:

Cohen, Mark S. "Neuroscience." YouTube, 12 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=eDq8uTROeXU.

Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience and Art Part I: Consciousness/Memory." YouTube, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=TzXjNbKDkYI.

Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience and Art Part II: Unconscious Mind/Dreams." YouTube, 17 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFv4owX3MZo.

Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience and Art Part II: Neurochemical." YouTube, 16 May 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5EX75xoBJ0.

Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "Perspectives." Nature Reviews Neuroscience 10 (2009): 815-21. Accessed May 16, 2019. doi.org/10.1038/nrn2736.