When five artists’ identities seem as one

Abstract

In general the production and appreciation of visual art has been considered to be a cultural phenomenon, but lately the possibility of a biological, leading on to a neuroscientific basis, for making art has been considered. This article investigates the brain wave activity of five prominent Pretoria artists, during the act of making art. In this study data was captured using electroencephalogram featuring the brain wave clusters of delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma. Receptors were placed on the artists’ heads at four sites representing the frontal, parietal, left and right areas. A rise or decline in brain wave activity during art making indicates the activation (or deactivation) of significant cognitive and neural function. Whilst artists’ individual brain waves are idiosyncratic, clearly indicative of highly personal visual and perceptual interpretations, when compared with each other overall they present similar brain wave patterns. It is indeed as if the five artists’ identities seem as one.

Oor die algemeen word die maak en waarderding van visuele kuns as ‘n kulturele uiting beskou. Deesdae word die moontlikheid van ‘n biologiese, inleidend tot ‘n neurologiese, basis tot kunsskepping wel oorweeg. Hierdie artikel gee verslag oor ‘n ondersoek aangaande die brein golf aktiwiteit van vyf gerespekteerde kunstenaars woonagtig in Pretoria, ten tye van kunsskepping. Brein golf inligting was deur middel van elektroenkefalografie met betrekking tot delta, theta, alpha, beta en gamma groepe verkry. Reseptore was op die kunstenaars se koppe op vier verskillende plekke geplaas, naamlik frontaal, pariëtaal, links en regs. Die styg of daal van die brein golf aktiwiteit gedurende kunsskepping dui aktivering (of deaktivering) van beduidende kognitiewe en neurologiese funksies aan. Alhoewel die individuele kunstenaars se brein golf aktiwiteite uniek is, bestaan daar oorkoepelend gelykvorminge brein golf patrone. Dit wil inderdaad voorkom asof die vyf individuele kunstenaars ‘n neurologiese identiteit ten tye van kunsskepping deel.