Many Faces of a Face, Disasters of War
I attended the 7th Neuroesthetic Conference at the Berkeley Art Musuem. The theme was "Many Faces of a Face". I stayed for the first half hearing 4 lecturers speak about people with face recognition problems (prosopagnosia), how different parts of the brain respond to face recognition, how long it takes for us to recognize details of a face (80 milliseconds), how adaptation enables us to see differences in people (race, gender), studies about brain regions and our ability to interpret facial expressions, body language and other social perceptions. I enjoyed the conference but couldn't see how what i learned today would help with my own art making and interpretation. Though, i am glad i am on their mailing list. The conference was free and they provided coffee/tea and snacks.
An unexpected highlight of the day was the current show at BAM http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/of the original etchings done by Francisco Goya, "The Disasters of War" which was horrifying, intense, and disturbingly beautiful to look at. There were 80 etchings and is the complete work from this series. I wonder when we will see what the artists of today are saying about the Iraq war. I've seen work done by artists who are frustrated with our current administration and its policies but no first hand account of the war. I did attend Botero's work on Abu Gharib at the University of California Berkeley library but i can think of no other relevant work. And I don't think Botero was actually in Iraq so it isn't first hand. The work would have to come from an Iraqi artist or someone living there including the military.
An unexpected highlight of the day was the current show at BAM http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/of the original etchings done by Francisco Goya, "The Disasters of War" which was horrifying, intense, and disturbingly beautiful to look at. There were 80 etchings and is the complete work from this series. I wonder when we will see what the artists of today are saying about the Iraq war. I've seen work done by artists who are frustrated with our current administration and its policies but no first hand account of the war. I did attend Botero's work on Abu Gharib at the University of California Berkeley library but i can think of no other relevant work. And I don't think Botero was actually in Iraq so it isn't first hand. The work would have to come from an Iraqi artist or someone living there including the military.
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