Between Mind and Play on Paper

Catalog description

In this class, students will explore the connection between artmaking and the neurological processes that occur in our minds while engaging in mixed-media works on paper, such as charcoal, graphite, ink, and watercolors. While we may have more questions than answers, the class promises to be an exciting experience through playful exercises. These exercises will encourage visual exploration using the mind and hand, drawing inspiration from touch, symbolic meanings of color (both cultural, mythological and/or personal, sound and color), dreams, live models, landscapes, the interaction of image and text, dreams, story-telling, and other potential sources. In addition to these exercises, we will incorporate readings on relevant topics in art and neuroscience. Students may also have the opportunity to participate in cognitive and physiological assessments of brain activity during artmaking (for those curious minds in the class). Topics in neuroscience will include color perception, visual processing, neuroplasticity in learning and memory, the brain-body connection, and methods for tracking brain activity during aesthetic experiences and art practice. The class is open to all students, both majors and non-majors. Previous experience in artmaking is desirable but not required.