Week 7: Neuroscience & Art

Having looked at the body, we now look into the mind, the brain, memory, and consciousness. What is consciousness? What is machines affect on us? To have a sense of what it means to be conscious, it is defined as a "state or condition of being conscious, a sense of ones personal or collective identity, including the attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities held by or considered characteristic of an individual or group."


We notice one of the greatest examples of artists and scientists coming together through the founder of neuroanatomy, Santiago Ramon y Cajal. As I was reading an article called "The Interplay Between Science and Art", the authors state "science and art both seek to observe, record, and explain the world around us." Art and science are capable of collaborating in such a way that they can create new knowledge and ideas for both respective fields. 

Suzanne Anker, a visual artist and theorist working at the intersection of art and biological sciences, works with digital sculpture and large scale photography. One of her photo projects show the brain wuth a butterfly intermixed to show the brain almost as art itself. 

Nueroscience has immensely influenced and inspired many works by artists, such as Laura Jade, have created a materpiece, as seen below, that represents the brain in a beautiful way, with what looks like colorful neuropathways. She transformed neuropathways into art using colors to enhance its aesthetic. 


People have been so inspired by nueroscience and turning it into art, that they have had competitions. In the Netherlands, "The Art of Neuroscience" held a competition askign reseearchers and artists to submit their works of art. In doing so, some reveal "thrilling images of the organ that the rest of us otherwise never see."


Something I was considering with this topic was whether or no neuroscience can help us understand art, just like how other things that come together which can result in us further understanding that very thing, or two things. In an article I came across, "Can Neuroscience Help us Understand Art?". Alva Noe states that "neuroscience holds the key to our very nature as conscious beings." Noe continues on claiming that in order to understand art, it all depends on our brains, a claim I would have to agree with since understanding certain concepts can often take even more material to understand. 

Works Cited

Badhwar, Amanpreet, and Estrid Jakobsen. “The Interplay between Neuroscience and Art.” Organization for Human Brain Mapping, 2017, www.ohbmbrainmappingblog.com/blog/the-interplay-between-neuroscience-and-art.

Jade, Laura, and Greg Dunn. “Let Gorgeous Neuroscience-Inspired Art Bring Some Joy to Your Day.” Shenova, 2018, shenovafashion.com/blogs/blog/neuroscience-art-gallery.

Nemo, Leslie. “The Art of Neuroscience 2017.” Scientific American, 31 July 2017, www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-art-of-neuroscience1/?redirect=1.

Noë, Alva. “Can Neuroscience Help Us Understand Art?” NPR, NPR, 19 Feb. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/02/19/467385560/can-neuroscience-help-us-understand-art.

Online, UC. “Neuroscience-pt1.Mov.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI.













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