The BRAIN
16th international art-sci juried exhibition
organized by Art & Science Collaborations, Inc.
will be held at the New York Hall of Science
October 11, 2014 – March 29, 2015
LAUNCHING… International Open Call !
INTRODUCTION
We have entered the era of “Big Neuroscience.” The goal of the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) Initiative in the USA is to map the activity of every neuron in the human brain, and the mission of the European Union’s HBP (Human Brain Project) is to construct realistic simulations of the human brain – they are the biggest scientific challenges of the 21st century.
Propelled by MRI and fMRI imaging technologies, scientists are already discovering fundamental mechanisms of brain function that will ultimately create a more complete understanding of what it means to be human. These “heady” times for neuroscience are also having a domino effect in the arts. Artists have long reflected upon the nature of perception, memory, and emotion to create new works. But recent breakthroughs in understanding the brain, accompanied by its visualizations, are also sparking the imaginations of artists around the world. And recently, a young neuroscientist who was so enamored with the beauty of the brain’s neurons and synapses has created a successful career in the arts as a painter!
Separately, and often in collaboration with neuroscientists, artists are using abstract thinking, imagination, and visual perception to respond to new discoveries in brain science. Sometimes, they are spurred by neural maladies that have touched them personally, such as color blindness and dyslexia, or the more serious impacts of brain damage from injury, epilepsy, Alzheimers, autism, and schizophrenia, among others.
A new openness from science practitioners and a desire for public engagement with their research findings, has created a plethora of recent art+neuroscience activities including: the new scientific field of Neuroaesthetics; “The Beautiful Brain: Art and Science of the Human Mind” online forum; The Interalia Magazine dedicated to the interactions between the arts, sciences, and consciousness; “Neuroscience Art” exhibitions mounted at The Society of Neuroscience annual meetings; and a 2014 production of a planetarium journey, the NEURODOME, that utilizes the data visualization tools of astronomy to depict high-resolution imagery of the brain.
With this exhibition, “SCIENCE INSPIRES ART: The Brain,” Art & Science Collaborations, Inc. (ASCI) and the New York Hall of Science, want to display the aesthetic results of human curiosity about the brain (human or other). We seek stunning, two-dimensional images of original art (executed in any visual media), inspired or informed by any aspect of the brain or new discoveries in neuroscience.
ANNOUNCING OUR CO-JURORS:
ART JUROR:
Stephen Nowlin is an artist and Director, Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he has initiated multiple curatorial projects with an emphasis on the intersection of art and science. Nowlin earned an MFA degree in Fine Art at Art Center College of Design in 1978, and a BFA in Design at California Institute of the Arts, 1971. Recent curatorial projects for which he has produced objects, catalogues, brochures, and written essays include: PAGES, 2013, examining the page as a space for communicating as well as forging new ideas; WORLDS, 2012, a perspective on Earth and the Solar System; ENERGY, 2010, a composite exhibition of objects and artifacts addressing the poetry of natural forces; TOOLS, 2009, focusing on artifacts from the artificial extension of human biology; OBSERVE, 2008, a collaboration with the NASA/JPL Spitzer Science Center; In the Dermisphere, 2007, surveying the art and natural history of skin; EAR(th), 2004, a sound installation with artist Steve Roden and Caltech geophysicist Mark Simons; and NEURO, 2003, an art and science collaboration with the Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering, Caltech. Nowlin’s current curatorial project, REALSPACE, will debut in fall, 2014. He was the subject of an interview in the nationalSciArt in America magazine in October 2013, archived online at: williamsongallery.net/sciart.pdf
SCIENCE JUROR:
Dr. Anjan Chatterjee is the Elliott Professor and Chief of Neurology at Pennsylvania Hospital. He is a member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and the Center for Neuroscience and Society at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on spatial cognition, language, neuroethics, and neuroaesthetics. He wrote The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art (Nov.2013) and co-edited: Neuroethics in Practice: Mind, Medicine, and Society, and The Roots of Cognitive Neuroscience: Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychology. He is or has been on the following editorial boards: American Journal of Bioethics: Neuroscience, Behavioural Neurology, Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, Neuropsychology, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, European Neurology, Empirical Studies of the Arts, The Open Ethics Journal and Policy Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology. In 2002, the American Academy of Neurology awarded him the Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology. He is a founding member of the Board of Governors of the Neuroethics Society, the President of the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics, and the President of the Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Society.
COMPETITION TIMELINE:
August 24………. Entry Deadline
September 3…… Notification of selections
October 3……….. Art must arrive at museum
October 11……… Exhibition Opens at museum
March 29, 2015… Exhibition Closes at museum
ENTER THE COMPETITION:
www.asci.org/artikel1363.html
SPECIAL THANKS! to our Social Media Partner, Megan Rhodes, a graphic + motion designer who is passionate about science. www.megrhodes.com
ADDITIONAL THANKS! to these Promotional Partners:
* MEDinART: an international platform for biomedical artists, created by Vasia Hatzi.
Art & Science Collaborations, Inc. (ASCI) is a nonprofit organization with an international membership dedicated to raising public awareness of the intersections of art and science as a holistic way of viewing, learning about, and responding to our inner and outer worlds. www.asci.org
