In search of a question

The first approximation to the research question was “How does brain process art?” We agreed during the first meeting that the question should be narrowed. This series of posts examines possible ways of narrowing the question.

Suzanne Coley suggested narrowing the “art” first. For example, do we intend visual art or performance art. For the moment, I will go with “theatre” because this seems most relevant to the project. So the question becomes “How does brain process theatre?”

The next part is to specify what do we mean by theatre, for the purpose of this project. (The definitions one finds in the dictionaries offer a wide range of meanings.) I will take the definition offered by David White. Theatre is an organism created when live performers are on stage. Let’s see what we get now: “How does brain process an organism created when live performers are on stage?”

Well, this sounds a bit jarring, but it is close to what we intend:

How does brain process the totality of stimuli generated during a live performance?

Typically, the next step for researchers is to answer the following questions: “Why should we care?” and “Do we have the tools to get to the answer (or, at least, to other interesting questions)?”  Answering these questions is likely to narrow the question even further.

stripped of universal truth…


In his emphasis on the historical context in which the art emerged and the importance of the beholder’s participation for the completion of a painting, Riegl stripped art of its pretension to achieve a universal truth and placed it into its proper context as a material object that derives from a particular time and a particular place.

“The age of insight” by Erik Kandel, p. 104.


The eye is not a camera.


Faces are not easily recognizable upside down.




The brain makes guesses, as result it can be deceived.

  • Brain brings to the forefront, discarding the incidental.


Getting the word out to WordBRIDGE playwrights





Stay tuned.



  • our memory plays a huge role in what we see:  we don’t see so much as we remember.
  • one work of art can lend understanding to another work of art.  art is a conversation.  works of art appeal to an audience member based on her initial sensory perception of the work or event, the work’s relationship to other pieces of art that the viewer has seen or been told about, and the personal history and memories of the viewer.    
  • we like to think that we think like an artist thinks when we look at their work of art.  a work of art can create empathy that helps us understand something about the work of art, the artist, and therefore ourselves.
  • there are certain brain functions that increase or decrease in activity based on visual indicators.  what happens if some of these ideas are employed during the generative process?