Anisette Studio

What is Neuroesthetics and How does it apply to Shibu Found Image Art?

What is Neuroesthetics? It is a sub-discipline of applied aesthetics. Something that was not used until recent times because it was hard to prove. With today’s technology, we can see how the brain and body work; we have images and studies to learn from. Neuroesthetics is the scientific approach to studying the aesthetics relating to various art forms in conjunction with our personal experience and perceptions of those experiences. I call this our most actual reality. It’s what we believe, according to what we experience from birth to death. We file away much information during each age and stage of life and use it to make a stand on what we believe, until, unless we change that information. Yet all that is learned is still there in case it’s needed. The information comes from all we sense, the mind and body remember! We use personal experience to create art, write books, and write poetry. When we apply good communication skills, we observe the person we are communicating with, take in the clues given to us, and respond to the context around the experience. This context is part of the aesthetic. Note that a mixed message is just that: a mixed message. The point is that this experience is an aesthetic experience, as is stepping into a serene space, going to a baseball game, a dance recital, or a walk in the park. It is all usable information the mind uses and we respond to!

The term neuroesthetics was coined by Semir Zeki in 1999. The formal definition came in 2002, when it began to be used with scientific studies examining neural bases. The connection between creating art and how the mind works as it creates became possible to study. We now have evidence that human interest, the creation of art, evolved as an evolutionary necessity, was a mechanism for survival across culture, and occurred throughout history. Anthropologist and evolutionary biologist continue their studies, adding to a host of information.

Neuroesthetics uses neuroscience to explain and understand the aesthetic experience. The topic attracts much attention from scholars and other disciplines, such as art historians, artists, therapists, neuroscientists, and psychologists. Although not known to me and others, the concept attracted me back in 2012 as an artist, writer, and someone with a keen interest in art therapy. I was headed for a Master’s in Art Therapy when I thought, “What can I do with developing an art therapy tool? Is it possible? I would need to understand how the mind works!” Well, that was not going to be an easy task, but it has been a compelling and engaging!

I did not know other people were thinking along the same lines. I had not met or found articles or books on neurobiology, neuroscience, consciousness, how the mind works, and various art therapies. It seemed a no-brainer! I had learned enough from my interest in psychology, the classes taken for my degree, to learn in the direction or realization that the mind and body were indeed a part of creating art. It was the why and how to. It was apparent to many who discussed the creative process!

My interest in doing “something different” began long before 2011, when I started developing an original form of art called Splosh Work. Splosh Works became Shibui Found Image Art about four years later. I spent five years developing Shibui, and as I did, I became curious about the creative process and the role of the mind and body connection at work during the creative process. It meant developing theories, terminologies, and comparing them with other art forms, only to learn that it borrowed from several of them. There was no preconceived understructure, and that needed explanation. Shibui had its order of operation. It is vital to understand how the mind and body work will help me in the development of Shibui Found Image Art. In the sixth year, I began to involve other people, inviting them to learn Shibui in free labs. I taught what I knew, and from teaching Shibui, I realized what others could do with it and how it helped them. I learned more about it by teaching it and finessing techniques, trying more materials to understand what they would do. I decided to introduce the foundations and see what others did with them. This meant they were creating their brands!

I joined a Facebook group called the Artist Entrepreneur Network with Catherine Orer and learned a lot about the business end of art. I thought artists needed this badly, so I told anyone interested in art or who did art about being an art entrepreneur. I continue to say to my students about the business end of art. It’s always on my mind. My goal for Shibui is for others to use it as an original art form or therapy. So I am writing a manual. What has begun to happen is that others are teaching the foundation, which is an art-related job!

I moved and so____ but once the manual is done, I can teach Shibui online. I learned a lot by creating my Facebook page, holding my labs, and working with interested Shibuiest. I held two different labs. I ran the first one and then stopped to pivot because I had learned more about Shibui and what people could do with it. The next Facebook group was more advanced, and they took Shibui to heart, using it as an original art form and therapeutic tool.

Neuroaesthetics is an experimental science that combines (neuro-)psychological research with aesthetics by investigating human perceptions, production capabilities, and responses to art. The interest lies in interactions we establish with objects, scenes, or scenarios that evoke an intense feeling, often of pleasure.

The interest and developmental fields seek the neural correlates of aesthetic judgment and creativity and how these help humans communicate and connect. Visual aesthetics, it is argued, involves the process of assigning different degrees of beauty to specific forms, colors, or movements. We all do this as we define and finesse what we see.

When creating Shibui Found Image Art, how does Neuroesthetics apply? Like any art form, the mind uses stored information. When we look at the Shibui foundation, the mind is triggered by the shapes that become forms. The mind calls upon its preconceived information and gives us choices to draw upon and put in place. We are a part of what we create. The mind tells the body things according to what it experiences, and we benefit from what happens between the brain and body as it creates a chemical response, such as the amount of dopamine or Oxytocin needed for a sense of balance and peace.

Best wishes! May love and laughter find you! Pejj Nunes