Exhibition of creative works of autistic children, patients with Alzheimer's disease and Down syndrome in the context of artists' work
The exhibition presents the creative work of autistic children, patients with Alzheimer's disease and Down syndrome from Ukraine and Uruguay.
Organizers
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine;
Institute of Neuroartes, Estonia;
Association of Art Critics, Experts, Appraisers and Restorers;
National Academy of Management of Culture and Arts;
NGO "Best Artist".
Partners
Section of Criticism and Art Studies of the Kyiv Organization of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine;
BODY & BRAINE Correctional Center.
Participants
Ahcia, Brigido, Brisa, Don Ramon, Chelpta, Emiliano, Fanny, Grabados, Hector, Manuel, Marcy, Maria Padile, Sarina, Margarita, Nice, Tesoro De Vivir, Tono, Lena Andriyko, Serhiy Bilous, Nastya Bondarenko, Timofiy Kravchenko, Yefim Mykhaylenko, Anya Sambir, Matviy Sviatnenko, Lisa Tireshchenko, Dayana Fatulaeva, Yuriy Vakulenko, Oleksiy Zhadeyko, Vadym Mykhalchuk, Olena Panasyuk, Konstantin Rogotchenko, Vitaliy Fedorenko.
Curator
Victor Karpov
Special creativity of the weak anthropic principle
Matthew Weisberg’s reflections on the «weak anthropic principle» are contained in his work. He explains this principle with the thesis that we are witnesses of the Universe and the measure of this world, and painting is the most man-made reference to the future and a reflection of the world – a reflection empathetic, inner, experienced and meaningful, represented eidetically. The exhibition is the result of scientific work of an international group of scientists who study the problem of discovering the potential of art in therapy and correction of behavior of people with special needs, the study of the impact of art on man in terms of neuroart theory and essence of the cognitive in art.
The phenomenon of artistic creativity is always relevant for researchers. Art studies of the genesis of artistic creativity are based on a comprehensive study and consideration of various socio-cultural, ethnographic, historical, natural and other factors. For archaeologists it is important to determine the semantics and place of art in the context of culture, fine art experts reveal the figurative specificity and technique of image, culture experts study the process of artistic creation and its essence, philosophers deal with the consciousness of the artist. At the present stage of the art history development, neurophysiologists, who study the functionality of the human brain, have joined this realm of representatives.
The development of human culture has demonstrated the existence of internal artistic parallels between distant periods in time.
This similarity is inspired by the presence of internal mechanisms formed in the conditions of primitive society with its inherent expression of eidetic expression. The dynamics of such cultural and artistic tendencies are connected with the subconscious impulses of the human brain.
The art of the twentieth century, similar to the division of the nucleus and the release of enormous energy, testifies to the artists’ operation of discrete artistic elements – sound, color, timbre, stroke, and so on.
In this context, we feel a powerful impulse of the «naked nerves» of primitive society, which in terms of survival engraved a reaction to the characteristic situational social conditions (survival, reproduction, belief). On this basis, stable neural networks were formed, the imprint of which was most clearly manifested in the art of the twentieth century.
Instead, it is only in recent decades that scientists have come close to realizing the powerful subconscious source of artistic impulses hidden in the depths of the human brain. In the study of Paleolithic art D. Lewis-Williams, T.A. Dawson, R. Bednarik developed a neuropsychological approach to the study of the debate of the source of creativity, the essence of which is that Paleolithic signs can be a fixation of entoptic phenomena of the brain, i. e. pictures of internal ideas 1. Paleolithic art is the eidetic language of primitiveness.
Neuroart is the demonstration of the quantum connections between the human brain, the nervous system, the body and the artistic images, which are structured and constructed by the consciousness. Neuroart is seen as an instrument of human spiritual development, as a process of human transformation through art and under the influence of art, which opens up prospects for research in medicine, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, economics, culture and art. Different interpretations of quantum mechanics related to neuroscience and quantum biology can help develop social programs.
Artistic practices are successfully used in the correction of mental states and human rehabilitation. The combination of professional artists and children with autism, patients with Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome in the exhibition demonstrated that art is the deep essence of empathic reflection of one’s own universe and its extrapolation to the future.
Victor Karpov,
Doctor of Historical Sciences,
Master of Arts
Neurographics in work with inclusive children
In working with inclusive children with special needs, two main mechanisms of psychological correctional influence are applied through the use of neurographic line, which invokes the neurons of children’s brains in the process of creative work. The first mechanism is that art allows to reconstruct a conflict traumatic situation in a special symbolic form and find its solution through the restructuring of this situation on the basis of creative abilities of the individual. The second mechanism is related to the nature of the aesthetic reaction, which allows you to change the action.
Children with abnormalities in biological development have difficulty reflecting events. Such a person has a disturbed idea of the whole picture of the world. The child may perceive the world as a disparate chaotic set of elements. As a result, the nature of interaction with the environment becomes generally destructive, and this is an important concept of sublimation, which is corrected by neuroart – the transformation of the expression of unconscious instincts and attraction (sometimes destructive) into works of art. That is why the role of methods of stabilizing the mental and physical state of man based on the work of the brain is growing.
Neuroart 1 has common functions with art therapy in working with children with disabilities: catharsis, cleansing and relief from negative conditions; regulation, removal of neuropsychological stress, regulation of psychosomatic processes, modeling of a positive psycho-emotional state; the communicative reflexivity provides correction of communication disorders, the formation of adequate interpersonal behavior and self-esteem. The process of adaptation and inclusion of children with inclusion in active life through art involves finding a new language of art based on the capabilities of the brain.
The accumulated neural connections form a large neural network in the brain that resembles a knowledge base from which, at the right moment, the necessary information is obtained, after which we begin to act, making decisions. The decisions we make depend on our neural code, which forms the pattern of behavior.
Neurographics makes it possible to remove internal constraints and form a new neural code that will meet the task. By drawing, we change the impressions of reality and form the new ones. We «revive» this new reality for consciousness and begin to control the circumstances. The language is based on four archetypal elements: a circle, a triangle, a square and a special neurographic line that allows you to change patterns and open new possibilities on the way to the goal, transform neural connections and create new ones.
When we begin to give meaning to the figures, the consciousness fixes this connection, emotions appear in relation to each figure. By creating compositions from simple shapes and connecting them with a line, we form an impression. In this way we create a simple graphic code of change for consciousness. There is a readjustment of neural connections and people think and act differently.
A distinctive difference between neurographics and drawing in general is the presence of a basic algorithm and drawing language, as well as the idea of a series of drawings corresponding to life events. The basic algorithm consists of a fixed sequence of steps. A deviation from the algorithm turns neurographics into ordinary abstract drawing, which also has a positive effect, but different from the effect of neurographics. The author of this method is a psychologist Pavel Piskarev, who patented the method of «Neurographica» and the concept of «neurographic line» (neuroline).
Neurographics offers to draw abstract images that are perceived by the eye as living, filled with personal content, according to a special algorithm and using archetypal figures of a circle, square and triangle among the neurographic lines. The composition of the neurographic image in the basic algorithm is formed due to the emotional eruption that appears in response to the specified topic. This composition is essentially a doodle. For the first time doodles in psychotherapy were used by D. Winnicott, because they are a product of the psyche on the border of the inner and outer worlds of man and are of great importance for the development of creativity and play. From a physiological point of view, play, as opposed to fantasy, is a way of constructing reality, a way of safely building skills. Play is the active interaction of inner and outer reality, while fantasy is only the illusion of satisfying needs.
From the standpoint of the physiology of the central nervous system, the first two stages of the neurographic algorithm, the setting of the theme and the eruption, are aimed at detecting a locus of pathological excitation in the cerebral cortex that emerges as a result of stress. This excitation is transferred to the paper with the help of spontaneous expressive movement of the hand, that is, there is a contact of the inner, deep meaning of life and outer realities. The physiological aspect of the effectiveness of neurographics is the effect of fine motor skills of the fingers on the language. Since most of the motor cortex is associated with the speech center, this connection is traditionally used in work with children, adolescents and in the neurophysiological rehabilitation of some groups. The relationship between finger motility and speech was studied at the Institute of Physiology of Children and Adolescents 2. Fine motor skills in neurographics are actively involved in the stage, which is called «rounding» in the algorithm, when it is necessary to work with small details of the drawing, with corners that arise when crossing lines.
The next step in the algorithm is the circles coloring. At the time of coloring, a person enters a flow state in which he or she is able, among others, to find non-standard solutions to complex life or emotionally significant problems. In neurographics, coloring does not only include the flow of creativity, but also helps to move to the next step of the algorithm, which is the fixation of figures.
Figure fixation refers to the selection of archetypal signs by color or lines, primarily a circle. A circle is the first element of graphic creation that children begin to draw. It is traditionally understood as a symbol of integrity, unity, concentration. The other two shapes, the triangle and the square, are usually interpreted as tasks (conflict and stability), respectively. The appearance of these figures at the end of the algorithm is not accidental. It is the result of the activity of higher mental functions in the process of drawing.
At the end of the neurographic algorithm, a person must formulate a new view of the question put at the beginning. This requires that the picture bring aesthetic pleasure to the author, look bright and three-dimensional, thanks to lines of different thickness, shapes of different sizes and contain a set of archetypal symbols that have a personal meaning for the one who draws.
The symbolic integration of the entire intrapsychic process while drawing and the outer world occurs through the appearance in the drawing of the so-called field lines, which create a visual connection between the inner and outer reality of a person. Many unique lines gradually break the stereotype of the mental process, repeating the movement of the signals of the neural network that forms the dominant.
Neurographics is a creative method of world transformation. This special drawing technique helps to connect our consciousness with the subconscious, activating the connection between the cells of our brain – neurons, thus offering the keys to an infinite source of energy.
