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Defining Neuroarthistory

The Delivery of the Keys by Perugino (Sistine Chapel, 1482)

The most interesting aspect of neuroarthistory is the way it enables us to get inside the minds of people who either could not or did not write about their work. John Onians

In an attempt to further understand the creative process, the recent interest in neuroarthistory contributes to the ongoing investigation into human cognition and consciousness. Echoing the 'embodied mind' texts of Lakoff & Johnson (Philosophy in the Flesh) Neuroarthistory by John Onians confirms that by adopting a textual or 'clerical' approach to cognition provides us with limited access to human nature. Onians cherrypicks 25 philosophers and scientists who exemplify theories of embodiment - from the location of 'psyche' by Aristotle to the neuroesthetics of Semir Zeki. In the process Onian's makes some interesting obsevations e.g. he links the empanthetic neural activity of 'mirror neurons' to Alberti's understanding that a painted scence 'will move spectators when the men in the picture outwardly demonstrate their own feelings as clearly as possible' and similarly that people looking at beautiful faces take on their expression. Another thesis is that Perspective emerged from the converging grid-like linearity of Roman city architecture, as seen in the above fresco by Perugino.

A great prelude to an increasingly important debate however Onians & Zeki's current neuroesthetic agenda is problematic due to their sensory preoccupation with the visual. Ignoring the hyperesthetic effects of electronic media on the nervous system (McLuhan et al) reduces neuroesthetics to the same textual shortcomings their research aims to obsolesce. Developing other biofeedback technologies like the biosensecam and thrillchip by Lydnsay Williams may provide neuroarthistory and neuroesthetics with a more subjectively-biased outcome.

Biophilic Design

Urban Biophillic Pavilion, Pittsburgh by studio d'ARC architects
"Biophilia" is the term coined by Edward O. Wilson to describe what e believes is our innate affinity for the natural world. In his landmark book Biophilia, he examined how our tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes might be a biologically based need, integral to our development as individuals and as a species. The biophilia hypothesis, if substantiated, provides a powerful argument for the conservation of biological diversity. More important, it implies serious consequences for our well-being as society becomes further estranged from the natural world. Relentless environmental destruction could have a significant impact on our quality of life, not just materially but psychologically and even spiritually.

Blue Brain Project

"What we're doing is reverse-engineering the brain," says Henry Mackram , codirector of the Brain Mind Institute at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, in Switzerland and leader of the Blue Brain Project , which began in 2005. By mimicking the behavior of the brain down to the individual neuron, the researchers aim to create a modeling tool that can be used by neuroscientists to run experiments, test hypotheses, and analyze the effects of drugs more efficiently than they could using real brain tissue. The model of part of the brain was completed last year, says Markram. But now, after extensive testing comparing its behavior with results from biological experiments, he is satisfied that the simulation is accurate enough that the researchers can proceed with the rest of the brain."

VisLab

Rain steam and speed, the Great Western Railway by J.M.W. Turner
Prof. Semir Zeki's VisLab is a laboratory concerned with studies of the visual brain, its structure and function relating to health and disease. In his book Inner Visions he focuses on new ideas about the visual brain, distinguishing fact from fantasy he uncovers some of the mysterious connections that exist between the brain and visual art. Some of the book touches on hypothetical scenarios simply because we are still in the dark about much of its function.

Architecture Principe

Villa Drusch by Virilio & Parent
In 1963 Claude Parent and Paul Virilio formed the "Architecture Principe" group with the aim of investigating a new kind of architectural and urban order. The Function of the Oblique describes the experimental, provocative and largely undocumented collaboration between the architect Claude Parent and the cultural theorist Paul Virilio, who investigated a new kind of architectural and urban order which forced the body to adapt to disequilibrium, encouraging vertigo and promoting fluid, continuous movement.

ANFA

The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) is a unique research venture between architects and neuroscientists. John Eberhard, FAIA, has been a driving force behind ANFA since its inception. “Architecture stands on the threshold of a new era,” says Eberhard. “The enormous body of knowledge being created by neuroscientists is about to dramatically change what it means to be a professional designer. Architects will benefit from the new knowledge base made possible by neuroscience, but the real beneficiaries are future generations of school children, hospital patients, and office workers who will have their environments more carefully tuned to their needs and desires.” In his paper “Architecture and the Mind,” Eberhard writes, “The research results emerging from neuroscience provide knowledge of the basic biology of the brain, of how our minds use the brain to process experiences, and of why the human brain has evolved in this way.” Among the recent discoveries, for example, is a finding by Fred Gage, Ph.D., president of ANFA, that enrichment and exercise can lead to a re-tooling of the adult brain. Gage is a professor at the Salk Institute’s Laboratory of Genetics. Tools that didn’t exist as recently as 10 years ago are available now to study brain function. Scientists can employ imaging techniques to see what’s happening inside the brain, including which areas of a person’s brain are in use or being stimulated. New brain scanning devices can trace mental processes as a person moves, sees, hears, meditates or experiences emotions. Unlocking the Brain for Better Architecture & Design

zen geometry

500 year old Ryoanji temple garden, Kyoto.
In 2002 Gert Van Tonder of Kyoto University discovered 500-year-old rock patterns suggest 'tree' to our subconscious mind. The beauty of one of Japan's most popular Zen gardens has long eluded explanation. Now neuroscientists have discovered its minimalist design suggests a pleasing picture to our subconcious. Using symmetry calculations the objects imply a tree image in the empty space. The finding suggests that Japanese garden designers - originally priests - "balanced forces from visual science," says study leader Van Tonder. Repeating the calculations with random rock groups failed to generate any similar patterns. Earlier work by Ilona Kovács, a visual scientist at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, showed that the human brain uses similar symmetry lines, like those of a child's stick figure, to make sense of shapes. See also gestalt theory.