Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 – Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017

06:30 PM – 07:30 PM
US/Central

Presented by Aziz Shaibani, MD, FACP, FAAN, clinical professor of medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; director, Nerve and Muscle Center of Texas; and adjunct professor of neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC)

Aziz Shaibani explains, in simple terms, the magnificent power of the brain in relation to aesthetic experiences. The discussion touches on works of art such as the 19th-century watercolor of Nasir al-Din Shah on loan for the exhibition Bestowing Beauty: Masterpieces from Persian Lands.

Looking at the creation of art from the perspective of its effect on the brain, all artists are neurologists. The function of visual art is to provoke different sorts of emotions. These emotions are manufactured by the visual and other parts of the brain, all of which contribute to the creation of the aesthetic experience.

Figurative art usually provokes built-in, genetically wired mechanisms that evolved over millions of years for survival. However, the more abstract the art, the more the aesthetic experience is derived from personal experience and memory, triggering the engagement of cerebral areas. Art that utilizes different proportions of color, form, lines, and motion engages numerous innate and acquired brain tools to convey or make meaning.

This program is free! Drop in to participate. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Art of the Islamic Worlds/Rice Humanities Research Center Initiative
This public lecture is the first in a series organized by the Art of the Islamic Worlds curatorial team at the MFAH and Rice Humanities Research Center to foster deeper understanding of the visual arts and cultural heritage.