week 7

In my understanding, neuroscience and art are indeed connected, but the connection is mainly in films and novels rather than paintings. Among all the artworks I have came through during this week’s lectures, Roman Y Cajal’s idea and artworks about phrenology is the most interesting to me. Also, the brainbow, Suzanne Anchor’s sea sponge and butterfly projects are all very interesting to me as well. 

Throughout history, people have always been very interested in neuroscience starting from the discovery of neurons, which was shown in the invention and development in phrenology. This subject is still in research nowadays, which I also found interesting. If we can find a mapping of the brain, then we can enhance the parts we want to and abandon the parts we don’t want such as parts that make us criminals. The invention of drugs seems also interesting to me. From Albert Hofmann’s accidental discovery of LSD, to the controversial figure of Timothy Leary, a drug addict that was commented “the most dangerous person.” Also, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud’s discussion about philosophy and mental treatment is also engaging. Those historical figures in the history about the development of neuroscience have been featured in many films and novels, which were mostly successful. So undoubtedly, neuroscience has facilitated art in different ways. 

Personally, I still prefer those peaceful projects such as the butterfly images and phrenology. In the talk on the website, it was shown that our brain can quickly adapt to a new condition such as goggles that reverse the world and set up the map quickly for future reference. This idea is interesting to me, and I strongly agree that neuroscience gives artists many inspirations in many forms.

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Metro.co.uk, Simon Robb for. "This is what LSD does to your brain." Metro. N.p., 28 Jan. 2017. Web. 12 May 2017.

"Neuroscience vs art: Let’s talk across the divide." New Scientist. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2017.