FROM NEURONS TO PICASSO: HOW AND WHY THE BRAIN MAKES ART
Art/Neuroscience Combined Honors Seminar
Class Description
ARTE3041/NS3041: From Neurons to Picasso: How and Why the Brain Makes Art
Offered in Spring Semester 2020
Instructed by Dr. Kris Holland and Dr. Ilya Vilinsky
Detailed course info see .
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Reflection on Class
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As an engineering student whose research project is related to Brain Computer Interface (BCI), I initially took this seminar to learn the insights about the brain in other disciples. Dr. Holland and Dr. Vilinsky instructed the course well by giving us their expertise, motivating us to think and being welcome to discussion without any judgement.
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The class was conducted by alternate lecture and discussion sessions with a few lab sessions that enhanced the learning experience. Different topics were covered under the discipline of art and neuroscience, including sight mechanism, neuroplasticity, evolution of art, memory, etc. We read class materials that were posted online, then reflect on them in the form of weekly writing assignments (WWA). Since the class partially falls under the study of art, we were also encouraged to take class notes on sketch books rather than ruled notebooks, and embody as much as drawing as possible to illustrate our thoughts. I especially appreciate the fact that other professors were invited in class to participate in discussion on their special research areas. They provided us even more perspectives on the subject.
Unfortunately, at the second half of the semester, the class schedule was disoriented by the pandemic. Class material was still posted on weekly basis, but the majority of the time I spent on the class at home was about the final project. The requirement of the final project was broad, so long as it is related to art and (or) neuroscience. At that time, I was learning machine learning (ML) and taking a class on digital image processing, so I decided to work on a project that imitates art styles and interprets them from a programming standpoint. Though the implementation was hard as I was new to ML, I finished it by the deadline with good results.
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To evaluate the class itself, it was a meaningful and enjoyable experience, and I believe that it could have been even better if the second half of the semester went as planned. I definitely recommend this course to other students under any major, and I wish this class could continue for next year.
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Final Project Showcase