Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us

Join Public Health Grand Rounds at the Aspen Institute for a book talk on Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us, with authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross and moderated by Eric Motley, Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Art. Your Brain on Art shares the new science behind humanity's evolutionary birthright — to make and behold art and its power to transform our lives. What artists have always known, and researchers are now proving is that arts, in all its forms, amplify physical and mental health, learning and flourishing and build stronger communities

[MandoDan]

Fascinating anecdotal insights. I wonder if peer reviewed science really exists for some of the notions presented, or if this book may exaggerate a bit, the potential of creative experience/ascetic awareness and perception as a therapy for mental illness, etc. I am not a trained scientist, but could it be that we have yet to arrive at a point where precise therapies can be tailered for specific cases of mental and brain illness? In my own life, I have used creative experiences (in addition to exercise and music) as a substitute for chemical therapy (based on the advice of my Dr.) to deal with anxiety. So I am a believer (without empirical evidence, only personal) in the principles suggested in the book. In my professional career, many of my peers have postulated a connection between my creative work solutions and my musical/improvisation routines. Not sure if that is real.

[jamesduff]

If the world was all black we may not engage with it so much. But in our world, we have so many sensory inputs in order to fully experience the world.