michaelpadillaDESMA9-week 7

 Reading about Professor's collaboration with scientist Mark Cohen was pretty cool. I thought it was really interesting how they connected neuroscience with art. According to the article, "Hundreds of LED lights in the crowns shifted colors in relation to the oscillating degree of synchronicity between participants' brainwave frequencies" (Albu 2021).  Below is a picture of students exploring unspoken and visual communication using EEG technology. It is truly amazing how art accesses many of the advanced processes of the human brain, such as intuitive analysis, expressivity, and embodied cognition. Art also enhances the process of learning by nourishing attentional, cognitive, and emotional capacities. This week I learned that there is increasing evidence in the field of neuroscience that art enhances brain function by impacting brain wave patterns, emotions and the nervous system (ACRM 2020). The thought experiment with Schrodinger's cat was an intriguing way of showing how we misinterpret quantum theory. The cat demonstrated that simple misinterpretations of quantum theory can lead to wild results which do not match the real world. The prevailing theory, called the copenhagen interpretation, says that a quantum system remains in superposition until it interacts with, or is observed by the external world (Schrödinger’s 2023).

Sommer, Valerie. “‘Octopus Brainstorming.’” UCLA, 14 Nov. 2017, newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/octopus-brainstorming.


My favorite readings this week were "Neuro Culture" and the "Spiritual Problem of Man." These two academic journals gave me an in depth understanding of how medical technologies influence art concepts. For example, artist Suzanne Anker's employment of MRI scans shows an image of a butterfly at the centre of each frame, which she imposes a different reproduction of a Rorschach test type inkblots that creates an optical illusion. Although the butterflies are identical, they seem different from one another. What I found interesting is that the complex system of the images evokes the underlying neurological process at work in perception. This visual experience also reminds us that these are the end products of numerical data processing that involve intuition and interpretation on part of the scientist (Frazzetto 2009). 

Anker, Suzanne. “My Colleagues’ News.” MRI BUTTERFLY BY SUZANNE ANKER - ADA | Archive of Digital Art, 2008, digitalartarchive.at/database/general/work/mri-butterfly.html.


I am always fascinated when learning about the brain, especially because we know so little about it. I never knew how much art can impact the brain such as stimulating the creation of new neural pathways and enhancing brain wave patterns. Through neuroscience, we develop a specific understanding of the models of the world that the brain uses to make sense of incoming visual data (Blaszcyk 2009). 


Jovovic, Milan. “The Art of Mind-Flow and Neuroscience.” Meer, 9 Apr. 2021, www.meer.com/en/65421-the-art-of-mind-flow-and-neuroscience.


Works Cited

Albu, Cristina. “Planetary Re-Enchantment: Human-Animal Entanglements in Victoria Vesna’s Octopus Brainstorming.” CMA Journal - Simon Fraser University, 2021, www.sfu.ca/cmajournal/issues/issue-ten--enchantment--disenchantment--reenchantment/cristina-albu.html?fbclid=IwAR1twyrqbeKqNrJSUXSihLVGvX_D9ARndxDv3USnw2pTENE_iXHJtIo8v54.

Acrm. “How the Brain Is Affected by Art - Rehabilitation Medicine.” ACRM, 27 Aug. 2020, acrm.org/rehabilitation-medicine/how-the-brain-is-affected-by-art/.

Blaszczyk, Connie. “3Q: The Interface between Art and Neuroscience.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 16 Apr. 2019, news.mit.edu/2019/3-questions-sarah-schwettmann-interface-between-art-and-neuroscience-0416.

Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. “Neuroculture.” PERSPECTIVES, Nov. 2009, www.suzanneanker.com/wp-content/uploads/2009-Anker-Suzanne-Giovanni-Frazzetto-Neuroculture-Nature-Reviews.pdf.

“Schrödinger’s Cat.” Wikipedia, 16 May 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat.

Images

Anker, Suzanne. “My Colleagues’ News.” MRI BUTTERFLY BY SUZANNE ANKER - ADA | Archive of Digital Art, 2008, digitalartarchive.at/database/general/work/mri-butterfly.html.

Jovovic, Milan. “The Art of Mind-Flow and Neuroscience.” Meer, 9 Apr. 2021, www.meer.com/en/65421-the-art-of-mind-flow-and-neuroscience.

Sommer, Valerie. “‘Octopus Brainstorming.’” UCLA, 14 Nov. 2017, newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/octopus-brainstorming.

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