How Art Transforms The Human Brain. Unleashing the power of neuroaesthetics for environmental change

In my lecture I’ll talk about contemporary art that deals with environmental issues, engages in efforts to protect natural habitats and raise awareness for the importance of biodiversity for our survival and wellbeing.

There are numerous artists working in this field. I will discuss the projects of internationally established figures like Olafur Eliasson, Pierre Huyghe, A.K. Dolven, Precious Okoyomon, Henry Fair, and their different approaches and mediums.

For the longest time it was assumed the artists’ methods were purely intuitive. There was no hard evidence that looking at pictures could change the viewers’ mind. But new studies in neuroscience have shown exactly that. Art has the power to change the way we see the world. In recent years, scientists have moved away from classic philosophical questions of beauty to explore the processes by which art can transform us. I will give an overview of recent neuroscientific research on what happens in the brain when we experience art, and introduce key figures in the field like Wolf Singer, Lisa Feldman and Antonio Damasio.

Key findings of their research:

• People engage with the arts in a variety of ways, sometimes reporting transformative experiences.
• When interacting with art one finds meaningful, the default mode network—a brain region associated with introspection—is engaged.
• Aesthetic experiences may promote positive outcomes such as empathy, social connection, and cross-cultural understanding.

Major museums and art foundations like Naturkundemuseum Berlin or TBA21 in Vienna giving substancial space and funding to environmental art, are an indicator for the growing interest and understanding in the transformative power of art. Fondazione Prada in Milan and Venice has initiated a whole research project on the subject. Since 2018 they are hosting major exhibitions and conferences on the topic of Art and the Human Brain.

As an art critic and magazine editor I have covered the art world and written extensively about the power of art. I’m interested in neuroscience and nature.