Das Week 7: Neuroscience + Art
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| Michele Banks, The Art of Neuroscience, painting collage, 2014. |
The brain is the world’s first artistic canvas, ready for us to paint, create, and understand life with. This week’s conversations on art and neuroscience elicited many responses and questions from myself, especially when applying the topic to the arts of filmmaking, visual arts, and music, which are just a few of my personal passions. While this conversation began with the disproving of “phrenology” created by Franz Joseph Gall, accepting only his observation that we are capable of compartmentalizing different sections of our brain, applying the foundations of neuroscience and studies on the brain through an artistic lens can shift how we both understand and respect the easily dismissed path of the arts (Vesna).
Randall, Kevin. "Rise of Neurocinema: How Hollywood Studios Harness Your Brainwaves to Win Oscars." Fast Company. Mansueto Ventures, 25 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 May 2022. <http://www.fastcompany.com/1731055/rise-neurocinema-how-hollywood-studios-harness-your-brainwaves-win-oscars>.
One context we can explore is the idea of “neurocinema”, which is identified as a tactic of using neurofeedback to aid and edit anything from scripts to characters to effects used in production through neuromarketing companies that “brain test movie trailers for the major studios through fMRI, EEG, galvanic skin response, eye-tracking and other biometric approaches” (Randall). This is one example where neuroscience and art act as partners in crime to better market and make a movie that rakes in the viewers and dollar signs. Across the road in music, This is Your Brain on Music asserts that the art form is a fundamental indicator of health in all forms (emotionally, cognitively, and physically), and a strong evolutionary force that acts as a social bonding tool among other uses (“This Is Your Brain on Music”. While I did not discover many articles on “neuromusic” in tandem with “neurocinema”, I imagine with the existence of things like synesthesia when listening to music, pairing song with brain study for profit is not too far off.
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| Dunn, G. (n.d.). Self Reflected Sunburst. Greg Dunn A. Retrieved May 9, 2022, from rthttps://www.gregadunn.com/product-category/print-of-neuroscience-and-nature-art-by-greg-dunn/. |
In the world of the visual arts, I am reminded of our conversations on MedTech and art, where ballerinas danced with the help of prosthetic limbs, and those suffering from dementia were able to draw with incredible detail and memory. In the context of neuroscience, brain damage or syndromes such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can actually affect someone’s artistic ability, whether that be improvement or deterioration (Chatterjee). Neuroscience quite literally informs art in this way, but this statement can take a more figurative approach when discussing the works of Greg Dunn, whose abstract art pieces could be waved away as simple shapes and lines, but is truly referencing our brain’s neurons and innerworkings, effectively displaying our brains on canvas in a beautiful way (Dunn). Neuroscience is informing his artistic pursuits, and how he chooses to use his gift, which is ironically, also provided by the mysterious beauty of the brain.
SOURCES:Chatterjee, Anjan. "Neuroaesthetics." Neuroaesthetics. TheScientist, 1 May 2014. Web. 12 May 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.the-scientist.com%2F%3Farticles.view%2FarticleNo%2F39802%2Ftitle%2FNeuroaesthetics%2F>.
Dunn , Greg. "Greg Dunn Design - Visual Art | Neuroscience Art | Gold Leaf Painting."Greg Dunn Design. Visual Art , n.d. Web. 9 May 2022. <http://www.gregadunn.com/>.
Randall, Kevin. "Rise of Neurocinema: How Hollywood Studios Harness Your Brainwaves to Win Oscars." Fast Company. Mansueto Ventures, 25 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 May 2022. <http://www.fastcompany.com/1731055/rise-neurocinema-how-hollywood-studios-harness-your-brainwaves-win-oscars>.
"This Is Your Brain On Music." Dr Daniel J Levitin. Daniel J Levitin. Web. 9 May 2022. <http://daniellevitin.com/publicpage/books/this-is-your-brain-on-music/>.
Vesna, Victoria, narr. “Neurosci + Art Lectures I.” N.p., . web. 9 May 2022.
Hi Paravi! I'm glad I stumbled onto your post this week. In the past, I've heard about the impact of psychology and neurology on advertising various products but never had I seen it in the context of film production. Before any potential blockbuster comes out in cinema, I usually peruse the web for their trailer to get a better idea of what to expect; however, I never would have imagined that these trailers are specifically designed to manipulate us psychologically. In retrospect, I recall being so excited before the Avengers came out and having just researched the notion of neurocinema, it turns out Marvel actually uses this to engage audiences. While I take no joy in being so easily influenced, I respect the dedication of Marvel studios to implement science in their advertising strategy. Still, this raises an important question(s): To what extent is it ethical of television companies to implement manipulation tactics in their trailers? Does it border on audience exploitation or can it be forgiven as just another ordinary advertising strategy? It's certainly something I will think about the next time I watch a movie trailer. All in all, thank you for your thought-provoking commentary and I hope I get to read another post of yours in the few weeks we have remaining of this course.
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