Advances in our understanding of biology from genes through to behavior seldom cross over from the biological sciences into the public imagination. Yet there is value in communicating these ideas to a wider audience, to challenge people on what they experience every day as implicitly natural, to reveal the complex mechanisms and processes that lie beneath.
In this course we will examine how the biological sciences (including neuroscience) have been explored through the arts; from installations, through contemporary dance to virtual reality. As we try to understand how science might be brought back into our cultural awareness, we will pose the following questions: Can scientific knowledge be meaningfully expressed in art? If science can inform art, can art also inform science?
The course will be organized around three core scientific areas. In each, we will discuss established and cutting edge scientific research as well as the implications such research may have (e.g. social and technological impact). Specific artworks will then be discussed in the context of their use of scientific imagery. This will include artworks derived through the scientific research process; artworks that model scientific knowledge/understanding or model the consequences/broader issues of scientific investigation; artworks that use biological processes themselves, and finally artworks that use biological methodologies to create new forms of ‘living art’ or explore scientific ideas through the use of novel human-machine interfaces.
The three core areas we will explore are, 1: The Genome - Topics will cover a contemporary understanding of fundamental genetic processes as well as genetic techniques used in biological research. 2: Brain Organization and Sensory Systems - This broad topic will explore the organizational principles of the brain as well as the nature and function of key sensory systems such as the visual and auditory pathways. 3: Memory and Sleep – Here we will explore different memory systems, including the role of the hippocampus in the acquisition of episodic and spatial memories. The role of sleep in memory consolidation as well as the impact of attention and emotion on memory will be discussed.
Two key additional topics that will be covered in this course are Synaesthesia (in which experience in one modality arises through stimulation in another) and the controversial subject of Neuroaesthetics, in which neuroscientists try to explain aesthetic experiences through a description of neurological processes. We will also discuss in class more fundamental considerations of what the relationship between science and art can be. Drawing upon ideas of “performative science” from Hans Diebner, we will consider how the passive role of an ‘observer’ of an artwork can be turned into an ‘active’ role, in which the complementarity between art and science is used to produce a conversation or negotiation between the work itself and the observer.
A background in the biological sciences will not be required. |
