Neuroscience + Art

As the most complicated object in the Universe, the brain is a jumbled knot of cells that are connected for a person to perceive, think, feel, etc. and that is extremely fascinating to me. The relationship between neuroscience and art is often ignored and seen as irrelevant. However, the brain is the sole reason why we are able to view art and see the aesthetic beauty of each piece. The idea that artists were only attracted to science was introduced by foundational figure, Sanitago Ramon y Cajal, which produced numerous drawings of the image of a neuron in the brain.

This is still seen today in the works of many artists, such as Greg A Dunn with his microetchings that are handmade lithographs that manipulate light on a microscopic scale to control the reflectivity of metallic surface in precise ways. As a visual artist with a Ph.D. in neuroscience, Dunn truly embraces the beauty packed in the architecture of each branching pattern of a plant or neuron. He was inspired by Santiago Ramon y Cajal and pan-Asian artwork.

As a person of Asian descent, I was especially attracted to Dunn's work. The different aspects of the brain come off elegant and spontaneous, which is similar to the Asian style of branching trees, cracks in pavement, and streaming rivers. Even as I think about the brain now and how it traditionally perceived, I can see the comparisons to a river or cracking desert ground.

Works Cited

Drake, John M. "Ecology, Cognition and Landscape: Linking Natural and Social Systems . Landscape Series, Volume 11. By Almo Farina . Dordrecht (The Netherlands) and New York: Springer. $129.00. Xi + 169 P.; Ill.; Index. ISBN: 978-90-481-3137-2 (hc); 978-90-481-3138-9 (eb). 2010." The Quarterly Review of Biology 87.1 (2012): 55-56. Web.

"Humanities & Neuroscience Project." Italian Academy for Advanced Studies. N.p., 10 June 2014. Web. 19 May 2015. <http://italianacademy.columbia.edu/humanities-neuroscience-project>.

"An Introduction To Microetching." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 19 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLt5A29N0zg>.

MailOnline, Victoria Woollaston for. "A Beautiful Mind: Japanese-style Art Inspired by Neuroscience Reveals Grey Matter in Much More Colourful Glory." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 15 Dec. 2014. Web. 19 May 2015. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2874373/A-beautiful-mind-Japanese-style-art-inspired-neuroscience-reveals-grey-matter-colourful-glory.html>.

"The Neuroscience of Creativity." Comic Art, Creativity and the Law (2014): 7-11. Web.