Week 7: Neurosci + Art

Neuroscience & Art 

Throughout my time in this course, I have come to realize that there is no limit to what can be considered art. Prior to enrolling in this class, I knew of the very common joke made about art, that anything can be art even something as simple as a water spill or a correctly placed collection of artifacts can have a deep artistic meaning. This course has taught me to be open and willing to accept what art is and that if I do that I will begin to see the beauty in art. Within this section, Professor Vesna has taught us about neuroscience and art, and how the brain affects our perception of art and art can even influence and stimulate our brain back. We have come to learn that art in everything, art is all around us and in this section, we learn about how it is also inside of us.

Picasso once stated that "We all know that art is not the truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies". I believe Picasso was touching on the fact that the brain can be influenced by art and that in turn influences what we create and what we see. Its an odd concept to understand, and its a bit too philosophical for me. However, in a more practical sense, Landau states that our brains are tricked by the different elements of art and consistently making us see different things. This is seen in the way we are able to draw different lines and faces and make it look a certain way, and essentially trick the brain. This is commonly referred to as optical illusions. 

When people most commonly think of the brain and the brain affects our world and life, everyone thinks first of the functions the brain allows us to do. Breathing, moving, and simply being able to function our basic human needs. However, many seem to forget that neuroscience or our brains simply doesn't help us do those simple tasks but also holds the very nature of our consciousness and makes us into the individuals that we are (Noë,  2016). In many ways we are socialized into the people are today, and the brain registers and absorbs all that information and ultimately changing itself based on what information it receives. 

Lastly, one of the most interesting aspects of neuroscience and art that I found to be intriguing was the term "neuroaesthetics", this is a term that has been used to refer to a project of art that has been done with neuroscience methods and techniques (Noë, 2011). A term I previously had no idea existed, and once discovered I had to learn more. As I have come to learn art is more than just art, it transcends into the real world and into our lives and it is inevitable. 

Sources 

Vesna, V. DESMA9: Online Video Lectures. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). 2019. 

Picaso, P. 1923. 

Landau, E. "What the Brain Draws from Art and Neuroscience". CNN. September 15, 2012. 

Noë, A. "Can Neuroscience Help Us Understand Art?". NPR. February 19, 2016.

Noë, A. "Art and the Limits of Neuroscience". Opinionator. December 4, 2011.