Module 2

1. Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts key concepts:
In the 18th century Jmannuel Kant says "Through the genius, nature set rules to art."  Friedrich Schiller eventually expands on that and explains that art makes us more human.  I believe that this is important because art does make a huge difference in our society.  Without art we would not be able to express ourselves or understand ourselves and others.  Art creates a safe place for humans physically and mentally.  Whether for theraputic reasons, personal enjoyment, entertainment or to send a message, art is what makes us more human.  In the 19th century Georg Hegel states another concept I feel is important.  He says "Through art an individual expresses what she is and what she may become."  We can still agree with this statement today considering we use art to express ourselves and evolve emotionally.
CARTA: Neurobiology, Neurology, and Art and Aesthetics key concepts:
I found it interesting that Changeux and Ramachandran connected art and science with the human brain.  They believe that through art, humans are able to share their conceptions of the world.  We can be smarter and learn more through the use of art.  I feel that this video could be a big wake up call to those who come from a scientific background and don't feel that art is important.
What the Brain Draws From: Art and Neuroscience key concepts:
It is interesting how artists have learned to trick the brain into thinking something looks three dimensional and lifelike.  The article explains how by placing shadows and lights that wouldn't be present in real life, we are able to trick the eye into percieving depth.  I loved this because as a spectator I never thought about the art process that way.

2.  I believe that Plato's theory on aesthetics is the most important.  He once said " There is a beauty by which all things are beautiful."  This is important because at this time it was 4th century B.C.  I feel that he was getting ahead of something that would become so meaningful and fluent in the days ahead.  His idea of beauty is beyond the senses and really helps to create a better outlook or perspective on life and what and who we are surrounded by.  I feel that Plato's theory really created the idea of beauty through art whether he was influenced by art and artist during his time.  He believed that once you have the idea in your head that is the original version of that work of art and once you create the art it becomes a copy of an idea.  He also believed that poets were untrustworthy because he believed they spoke of things they can't truly know about.  Plato's theories were inspiring to me and his idea of beauty is exceptional.

3. I think that Changeux and Ramachandran's scientific views on aesthetics and art was interesting.  Jean- Pierre Changeux started out with the evolution of the human brain in respect to art.  First he states that the brain takes at least 15 years to develop.  The first phase is the discovery of tools over 500 million years ago.  Next is the discovery of symmetry and then the discovery of symbolism.  Lastly the discovery of artistic composition which was founded 100,000 years ago.  Changeux called this the genetic envelope of art in the brain.  Later in his lecture he talks about the exemplum which was the artists attempt to share his conception of the world.  This is the idea that the artist has to convey to the spectator.  When an individual creates a work of art he is giving his idea to an audience or making us aware.  I loved this idea because it led to the idea of empathy or the empathy for suffering.  Looking at the different brain scans of individuals undergoing different stressors really put things into perspective for me.  Changeux explains how art makes us aware of oneself as another.  Ramachandran starts out with how people believed that science and art did not mix but in fact they do and they meet right in the brain.  Artists develop art for pleasure majority of the time whether its for themselves or others.  Ramachandran argues that this is a form of science, how an artist can configure something to create value to others.  He came up with the eight laws of aesthetics which are commonly used and studied.

4. The videos and article relate to the readings in the text because they correspond in the same way.  Every video, article, and reading all relate back to the idea of art making us more human or more understanding of the world we live in.  Before I began taking art classes and investing my time in the idea of art therapy I never would have known how important art truly is to the way we live and think.  Art is everywhere, some people are just not aware.

5.  In my opinion both the videos and the article were very informative.  The first video helped me to better understand the history of art and where it all began.  The second video explained how the brain and art are connected in a major way and the article used neuroscience to explain how we create art to influence our audience with the different approaches artists choose to use for specific reasons.