Week 7: Neurosci + Art

This week's topic was particularly interesting for me, since I have been involved in neurobiology research myself in a wet lab at UCLA. Furthermore, being a Pychobiology major had given me opportunities to explore the human brain in various ways through my classes and projects outside of class. Given this background, I would say that the Brainbow project is one of the most beautiful works that I have seen so far in this class. The impact it had on me was not only due to the stunning visuals, but also due to the overwhelming implications it has on the scientific community. The brain has always been the biggest mystery when it comes to the human body. We have attempted countless times to map the brain in order to understand it, and this piece of art is a step forward in that direction.
Brainbow 
Furthermore, I have seen artist friends around me who actually created art out of their understanding of neuroscience. One friend I had once drew a tree out of dendrites, which is not an uncommon interpretation of the intricate structure. In fact, beside the cartoon drawings of dendrites in textbooks, dendrites do resemble trees very much. It's artistic and metaphorical in that these structures on the neuron might very well be the tree of life, since our brains make us who we are. 

Dendritic tree
Lastly, this week's lesson also made me think about my thinking of art. When neuroscience work is portrayed as art, it also makes me think of my own brain and the way it perceive things to be art. That in itself is a magical thing, since art is an abstract idea that only exists because our brains give it conceptual significance. That in itself is art—art of being human. 
Our brains are the very place where ideas are birthed and art is created
1) Gregory Bateson. "Mind and Nature: a Necessary Unity". <http://www.oikos.org/mind&nature.htm>. 
Howard Gardner. "Art Mind & Brain: a Cognitive Approach to Creativity".
2) Lichtman et al. "Brainbow". Center for Brain Science. <http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow>.
3) Vesna, Victoria. “Conscious / Memory (Part 1).” Lecture. 16 Nov 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DLVQIwOn7o8> 
4) Vesna, Victoria. Lecture. “Conscious / Memory (Part 2).” 16 Nov 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xlg5wXHWZNI> 
5) Vesna, Victoria. Lecture. “Conscious / Memory (Part 3).” 16 Nov 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E5EX75xoBJ0> 
6) Cohan, Mark. Lecture. 16 Nov 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eDq8uTROeXU>

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