Aesthetics and the Brain: A Lecture by Irving Biederman
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 : 6:00pm
University Park Campus
USC Fisher Museum of Art
Admission is free.
Reception to follow.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Irving Biederman, the Harold W. Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience at USC and author of over 200 scientific publications, will explore the neural basis of aesthetics. Long a mystery, recent research in cognitive neuroscience has begun to shed light on the biological events that lead us to seek out novel but richly interpretable experiences. Phantasmagoria: Specters of Absence will provide a test case for such an account by leading us to experience novel interpretations under conditions in which the dimensions that normally accompany pleasurable perceptual interpretations are reduced, if not eliminated. Think Mary Poppins, noir.