tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post5009296627386661802..comments2024-03-18T07:23:32.809-04:00Comments on Gurney Journey: How Art Activates the Brain James Gurneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-42127971118905439312014-01-09T17:04:59.082-05:002014-01-09T17:04:59.082-05:00IMHO Video games are yet another media for pursuin...IMHO Video games are yet another media for pursuing 'art' as discussed here. They have run their course in 'plot' outlines, and have begun fine-tuning their visuals, and moving to realistic 3d functions via computational solutions, rather than massive pictorial libraries. (Lets ignore immersive 3D, which is also a simmering technology, but, as with great 'visuals' alone, does not aid nor harm the 'art' in the medium). That leaves the field technologically 'ready' for applications that tickle the cortical homunculus (AND MORE!) at this point; and I look forward to it. ( I don't know if they should be looking at Kurosawa as an inspiration, or Dupin, or both) Tatter Saladhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14399411206212066160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-83923284501460074172012-09-03T20:00:50.334-04:002012-09-03T20:00:50.334-04:00(edited for spelling):
mdmattin's quote should...(edited for spelling):<br />mdmattin's quote should be posted on every art oriented website forum when it comes to abstract art because I tell you now, amateurs and high level artists have a closed off view of abstract art and his insight gives a very well informed view.<br /><br />It's a very good observation on your part md. :)Dash Courageoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01649688137713295510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-63087616914836575112012-09-03T19:58:32.174-04:002012-09-03T19:58:32.174-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Dash Courageoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01649688137713295510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-66430100759092219352012-08-16T05:52:26.785-04:002012-08-16T05:52:26.785-04:00I was reading latest donato giancola's post on...I was reading latest donato giancola's post on muddycolors and it reminded of this other fantastic one. and i linked the two topics: hands in a painting are really as expressful as hands, and maybe that's related to how much importance is given in the brain to them. Maybe, one could actually use the distribution of body parts in the fusiform gyrus as a reference on how much detail and effort to be put in the rendering of a figure.Emanuele Sangregoriohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578548215547112421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-47706273095208309732012-08-15T17:59:55.961-04:002012-08-15T17:59:55.961-04:00Etc, Etc. Interesting point. I don't know how ...Etc, Etc. Interesting point. I don't know how it is with other brain scientists, but in the case of Zeki, his book reflects deeply on Plato and Schopenhauer, and connects them to the new brain science. In my exchanges with Zeki, he seems to value many lines of inquiry, and he emphasizes that the science of visual perception and visual cognition are very much in their infancy, so there's room for many new theoretical frameworks.<br /><br />Sam, thanks for that really illuminating story. By understanding how we think and how we see, we can definitely draw and paint better. Betty Edwards has been a great contributor to this idea.<br /><br />Anonymous, I've mentioned animals studies in the field of eyetracking, and there are certainly primate studies on mirror neurons and such. Again, that's an area where there's much more to learn.<br /><br />Anon 1. Not familiar with that show. Is it on YouTube?<br /><br />MdMattin, I've heard of those studies on direction of gaze vs. cognition. Do you have links?James Gurneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-11833934863686062482012-08-15T17:40:42.470-04:002012-08-15T17:40:42.470-04:00Earlier this year I had a significant experience r...Earlier this year I had a significant experience regarding how our brains and art relate to each other. I was in a drawing class with Leon Parson at the teaching helm. Leon renders like it's no buddy's business. Most of my classmates could understand and duplicate the rendering. Almost everyone could do subtle and graceful strokes. My drawings were hard and geometric. Half way through the semester I was looking at my homework pined on the wall with the other students noticing the the difference, and I emotionally broke down. <br />(It would be amusing to say, that when the art students talk about Leon, the first thing that is usually said, "Oh yeah, he made my roommate cry.")<br />At a free opportunity I went to Leon and asked him why my heads are chicken scratches while everyone else were on their way becoming the next Fredric Edwin Church. He looked at the drawings. Without missing a beat Leon turned to me sayin, "There's nothing with you; you'd just have a different intelligence than the others here." It was an epiphany. I loved art, and deep down inside I knew I could be good at it -I just needed to know how my brain worked.<br />These past few months I've been practicing Impressionism. And even though it's not my first love, I've gained satisfaction and happiness in my recent projects.SEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08973124594477337066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-67922707519592297342012-08-15T12:10:42.419-04:002012-08-15T12:10:42.419-04:00In terms of practical application to art, I've...In terms of practical application to art, I've yet to read anything from scientific research that I haven't already read in traditional aesthetics (and more, since scientific research seems to be oblivious to any notion of cultivation), particularly 18th century German aesthetics including Hegel. Yet modern scientists seem so determined and eager to reject, ignore, or even deprecate them, probably because of the aesthetic philosophers' tendencies towards teleology and concepts of the Absolute, tendencies I would argue, that are critical to any real understanding of art and the aesthetic experience. Obviously enough there are differences in methodology, but I can't comprehend how any scientist truly interested in aesthetics wouldn't be interested in what they had to say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-66629979158598933852012-08-15T12:04:09.808-04:002012-08-15T12:04:09.808-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-79572759339802137702012-08-14T00:50:04.949-04:002012-08-14T00:50:04.949-04:00Has anyone done this experiment on animals? I woul...Has anyone done this experiment on animals? I would like to know how a bird, or an iguana sees different kinds of artwork. Would their brains respond like ours do?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-49832110398154081042012-08-13T22:10:58.138-04:002012-08-13T22:10:58.138-04:00Hi James, I just saw you on spirit of America talk...Hi James, I just saw you on spirit of America talking about dinosaurs. Very cool show.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-935731235754922252012-08-13T18:35:11.294-04:002012-08-13T18:35:11.294-04:00Dupin's eyes are actually looking to his right...Dupin's eyes are actually looking to his right - I have the worst time with R and L!<br />Looking up and right corresponds to "constructed imagery and visual fantasy" which would fit with Dupin's inventive nature (assuming he was right handed).<br />mdmattinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18215455490958117703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-52117689954866467522012-08-13T18:25:23.613-04:002012-08-13T18:25:23.613-04:00Both the post and Teresa's comment are very in...Both the post and Teresa's comment are very interesting, and of course I'm deeply honored to see my comment quoted! I really like the idea of the cortical homunculus as the underlying inspiration for the Daumier portrait. Coincidentally, the subject, Charles Dupin, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dupin] was, along with many other accomplishments, the originator of the cloropleth map, which displays statistical data as toned or colored areas on a geographic region, akin to the way the homunculus maps neurological density to the body image. On another level, Daumier, who in this case was presumably sympathetic to his subject, portrays Dupin's eyes cast upwards and to his left, generally suggesting a thoughtful and even visionary spirit, and possibly more specific traits: [http://www.nlpu.com/Articles/artic14.htm]. We'd have to find out whether Dupin was left or right handed to delve any farther.<br />Teresa, thank you for the Ramachandran link. I was not familiar with his work and the lecture was very illuminating. Connecting back to Zeki's suggestions concerning Surrealism, Salvador Dali included the Richard Gregory Dalmation image cited by Ramachandran in his Hallucinogenic Toreador. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hallucinogenic_Toreador]<br />I'm not sure if he meant it to symbolize anything, or perhaps as a key to way one is meant to see the painting as a whole, finding images in shifting patterns of color.<br />Matthewmdmattinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18215455490958117703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-65355028131736180232012-08-13T10:20:19.504-04:002012-08-13T10:20:19.504-04:00I've always found it fascinating how we react ...I've always found it fascinating how we react to certain visual stimuli, especially in art, and have wondered why. Zeki's book is one I'll definitely have to look up. Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran has also written and lectured on aesthetics and has some interesting theories, too. Here's a link to a lecture he did in Oxford in 2003: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2003/lecture3.shtmlTeresa Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07426703298499901496noreply@blogger.com