What Art Can Tell Us About the Brain

Dr. Margaret Livingstone starts speaking at about 5:30

I recently attended a wonderful talk by Dr. Margaret Livingstone, who is a neurobiologist and professor at Harvard. The event took place at Boston University's medical campus, right next to Boston Medical Center. I think there were about 5 artists in the audience, with the rest being medical students and Doctors.  I'll admit that I felt a little out of place, but that didn't matter because I was there to learn something. How often do you get the opportunity to hear someone brilliant speak?

It was interesting being in an audience of scientists. They asked significant questions, which in turn lead on to more learning (for me, at least).

Charlie Rose :Creative Brain

"Charlie Rose Brain Series Episode Twelve: Creative Brain, a discussion about creativity with artists Richard Serra and Chuck Close, neurologist Oliver Sacks, Ann Temkin, chief curator of painting and sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art and Eric Kandel of Columbia University"

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11264

53 minutes

(I must admit that I was painting while listening, so it lacked my full attention). 
I did pick up some interesting information from the discussion.  Chuck Close's methods- why he works the way he does.

Losing My Marbles

Pretty cool illusion, no?

Speaking of Small Things

Check out this slideshow. It is a bunch of magnified pictures of ... sand, by Gary Greenberg. You never know what jewels lie beneath your feet (garnets, diamonds, beautiful whorls of shells).

To see more of Dr. Gary Greenberg's work, click here.

Theo Jansen- Kinetic Sculpture

Imagine that in your front yard! The neighborhood children would be terrified. As well as the Home Association. 

Theo Jansen is a Kinetic Sculptor link leads to his site, Strandbeest. He creates "animals" that are powered by wind.

 You can see his TED talk here. In his talk, he discussed the "brain of the animal", which is binary. "It is sort of the imagination of the simple world of the beach animal".