Week 7 Neuroscience + Art

I think what caught my attention right off the bat was that the Brain Model that was created by Franz Joseph Gall wasn't just a toy my mom bought for me as a child.  I always viewed it as something with little importance that was made in jest.  I hadn't put together until now that Gall who came up with cerebral functions, and mental functions and localized them used this to show how early thoughts of the brain worked.  And, that now it is used in Criminal science to understand criminals brains.   They would test which part of the brain was bigger in criminals, seeing it is like a muscle that would grow over time, and see if there was similarities between the brains of criminals with the muscles that were bigger or more developed.

Also that LSD and Cocaine were considered miracle drugs.  That people to get off Opium and Morphine they took cocaine to fix their drug problem.  Also LSD created by Albert Hofmann was used to study Schizophrenia, with Psychedelic Psychotherapy.  And later the CIA used it to try to control peoples minds as a truth drug.  But the government could not control the radical variety of responses, so they stopped testing people with it.  And people ended up killing themselves over the drug and testing procedures.

LSD.  Artist of Tool.  Alex Grey.  LSD is definitely a very powerful drug to affect visual artists.  Most of the colors used by this artist specifically are very much inspired by his experiences with that.  Which makes me wonder if we could of ever gotten to a place of art with this kinda visual stimulation without drugs, or was it always inevitable.  That just like certain drugs like Mushrooms or Peyote that is made within in the Earth for drug induced experiences that we were to experience what the world was creating in one way or another.

Images:

http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-phrenology-head-large/p231594464

http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/336072/musical-mind-control-another-music-conspiracy-theory-or-hidden-truth.htm



Works Cited:

Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience + Art Lectures." Desma 9 Lecture. Los Angeles. 11 May 2015. Lecture. Online

Cohen, Mark.  "Neuroscience." Desma 9 Guest Lecture.  10 May 2015. Lecture.  Online

"Sigmund Freud's Theories | Simply Psychology." Sigmund Freud's Theories | Simply Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2015.

"Dream Moods: Dream Theories: Sigmund Freud." Dream Moods: Dream Theories: Sigmund Freud. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2015.

"Brainbow." Center for Brain Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow>.

"Tool - Vicarious [720p]." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 18 May 2015.