THE BRAIN Sun Valley Center for the Arts February 6–April 17, 2015
VISUAL ARTS The visual arts exhibition features artwork considering different aspects of the brain: its structure, memory, recovery from stroke or injury, our management of brain health and the history of neuroscience. DEBORAH ASCHHEIM has cre-
THE BRAIN Sun Valley Center for the Arts February 6–April 17, 2015
T H E B R A I N is both the most complex part of the human body and the least understood. According to the National Institutes of Health, scientists have learned more about the brain in the past ten years than in all previous centuries. Yet so much of how it functions is still a mystery. And that mystery is driving research in numerous branches of neuroscience: neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to change neural pathways in response to injury or changes in environment or behavior); the workings of neurotransmitters; the effects of and treatments for strokes, brain injuries and mental illness; how we learn; why some of us learn differently; and memory—from work on Alzheimer’s and dementia to studies of people whose memories are extraordinarily detailed and permanent. Recently, the relationship between the brain and the arts has become its own field of inquiry: neuroaesthetics.
The Center offers this B I G I D E A project as an opportunity for conversation about recent advances in
neuroscience as well as a celebration of the wonder and mystery of the brain. Its complexity and capability are what distinguish us as human beings, shaping who we are as individuals and as a species.
ated several bodies of work about the brain, its physical structure and memory. From 2009 to 2011 she was the Hellman Visiting Artist Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco’s Neurology Department Memory and Aging Center. Her large-scale, site-specific sculptural installations investigate the connection between the architecture of the brain and its functioning. This exhibition features Nostalgia, a large sculpture based on the synaptic structures of the brain embedded with video monitors playing several decades of Aschheim’s family’s home movies (including vintage footage of family members skiing). After a number of years of making art about the pharmaceutical industry, painter BEVERLY FISHMAN has recently begun a body of work examining the connection between pharmaceuticals and the brain. She works with enamel on stainless steel to make deceptively colorful abstract paintings that depict EEG and neuron pike readouts. Faint images of pills float on the surfaces of some of her paintings, which consider our drive to better understand and manage our brains. REBECCA KAMEN has spent her career creating artwork that illuminates the world of science. Her dyslexia has driven an interest in neuroscience in particular. Recently, she’s begun investigating the work of SANTIAGO RAMÓN Y CAJAL, a Spanish scientist who won a 1906 Nobel Prize for his drawings of brain cells and is considered the father of modern neuroscience. The exhibition features a selection of Kamen’s sculptures, some made before her discovery of Cajal, some made
in dialogue with his work. Also on view are reproductions of Cajal’s drawings. Following a car accident that left him with short-term memory problems, JAMES STERLING PITT began making drawings he describes as calendars, white sheets of paper covered with shapes that have a glyph-like quality.
Beverly Fishman, Untitled, 2012, enamel on polished stainless steel, courtesy the artist Facing Page: Deborah Aschheim, Nostalgia (detail), 2009, sculptural installation with light, video, motors, courtesy the artist
These drawings are a way for him to record his memories of a given place or moment—weather, color, feel. He often translates the drawings into three dimensional form, making wood and acrylic sculptures with a loose geometric structure. KATHERINE SHERWOOD began her career making tightly controlled paintings full of symbolism. When a stroke left her paralyzed on her right side at the age of 44, she thought her career was over. After a period in which she made no work, she taught herself to paint with her left hand. What resulted were much looser, more intuitive paintings. She describes her work as flowing out of her almost unconsciously, resulting in images that are often meditations on the structure of the brain.
GALLERY WALKS Fri, Feb 13 and Fri, Mar 13 5–7pm Free at The Center, Ketchum Start your Gallery Walk at The Center!
EVENING EXHIBITION TOURS
James Sterling Pitt, Untitled (At Night), 2013, acrylic on wood, courtesy the artist and Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco James Sterling Pitt, Drawing for Untitled (At Night), 2013, graphite and watercolor on paper, courtesy the artist and Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco
Thu, Feb 19, Thu, Mar 12 and Thu, Apr 9* 5:30pm Free at The Center, Ketchum Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with The Center’s curators and gallery guides. *Artist REBECCA KAMEN addresses her work and its connection to that of Santiago Ramón y Cajal at 6:15pm following the April 9 tour.
Katherine Sherwood, Cajal’s Revenge, 2007, mixed media on canvas, courtesy the artist and Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco Santiago Ramón y Cajal, squema de la estructura y E conexiones del hipocampo [Sketch of the Structure and Connections of the Hippocampus], 1901, ink on paper, courtesy the Cajal Legacy, Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
WANT TO LE ARN MORE? JOIN US FOR THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO DIG DEEPER. WILL SHORTZ
SHANKAR VEDANTAM
Tue, Jan 13, 6:30 pm Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum $25 / $35 nonmembers Puzzle master for NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, the crossword editor of The New York Times and the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Shortz’s fun, informative and brain-stimulating lecture addresses how puzzles are created, the curious history of crosswords and his lifelong passion for puzzles. Lecture Series sponsored by Jane P. Watkins
Thu, Feb 5, 6:30 pm Church of the Big Wood, Ketchum $25 / $35 nonmembers NPR social science correspondent and author of The Hidden Brain, Vedantam speaks nationwide about the link between science and human ©GARY KNIGHT, VII PHOTO behavior. With expertise and insight, he explores the role of our unconscious mind in dictating many of our deeply rooted feelings, prejudices, biases and expressions. Generously sponsored by Jeanne Meyers and Richard Carr. Lecture Series sponsored by Jane P. Watkins.
BROWN BAG TALK with St. Luke’s Center for Community Health: Foods, Moods and Brain Power Wed, Jan 21, 12:15–1:15pm St. Luke’s Hailey Clinic, Carbonate Rooms Can what we eat effect the way we feel and think? Scientific research on food, nutrition and brain function suggests that physiological and chemical changes can occur in relation to what we eat. Laurie McBride, registered dietitian, discusses current research and provides nutritional guidance to help you eat smart.
BOOK DISCUSSION The Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam Tue, Feb 3, 6:30 pm Zinc Restaurant, Ketchum $10 / $12 nonmembers Discuss the themes and theories outlined in Vedantam’s book with the Sage School’s Head of School Harry Weekes and other inquiring minds.
BROWN BAG TALK Impacts on Academic Learning with Dr. Anne Clohessy Tue, Feb 10, 12:00pm The Center, Ketchum Join Dr. Anne Clohessy, Clinical Director of the Lee Pesky Learning Center, as she shares how we process information and what can affect student academic performance. Co-sponsored by the Lee Pesky Learning Center
LECTURE The Flourish Foundation presents Dr. Clifford Saron on Heathy Bodies, Healthy Minds—The Neuroscience of Contemplative Practice Thu, Feb 12, 6pm The Community School Auditorium, Sun Valley Clifford D. Saron is an Associate Research Scientist at the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California at Davis. He has had a long-standing interest in the effects of contemplative practice on physiology and behavior. In the early 1990s, he coordinated field research investigating Tibetan Buddhist mind training under the auspices of the Private Office of H. H. the Dalai Lama and the Mind and Life Institute.
BROWN BAG TALK with St. Luke’s Center for Community Health: Brain Management Wed, Feb 18, 12:15–1:15pm St. Luke’s Hailey Clinic, Carbonate Rooms Impulse control and self-regulation help us keep our thoughts and feelings from initiating impulsive or destructive actions. Annie Warberg, supervisor of district-wide behavioral interventions for Blaine County School District, explains why some people manage impulses better than others and how we can make improvements through specific brain management practices.
PANEL DISCUSSION What Affects How Our Brain Works? Tue, Feb 24, 6:30pm The Center, Ketchum The brain is complex. How does this vital organ operate? Join four health professionals from our community as they discuss the impact of relationships, aging, lifestyle choices, illness and trauma on
the brain. Panelists include Karin Lindholm, MD, neurologist; Tim Stoddard, MD, psychiatrist; Eryn Michaud, PhD, psychotherapist; and Melissa Boley, licensed professional counselor. Presented in partnership with St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation
FILM The Address Thu, Mar 12, 7pm Magic Lantern Cinemas, Ketchum $10 / $12 nonmembers Ken Burns’s The Address tells the story of a school in Putney, Vermont, where each year the students are encouraged to memorize, practice and recite the Gettysburg Address. The Greenwood School teaches boys who face a range of learning differences that make their personal, academic and social progress extremely challenging. The Address reveals how President Lincoln’s words motivate and engage these students.
FAMILY DAY Art Senses Sat, Mar 14, 3–5pm The Center, Ketchum Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Lee Pesky Learning Center invite you to experience The Brain with all of your senses. This hands-on museum experience will stimulate your brain and have you connecting with art in new and exciting ways.
LECTURE Flex Your Cortex: Seven Secrets to T urbocharge Your Brain with Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman Thu, Apr 2, 6:30pm The Center, K etchum Why is there a stigma associated with our brain’s health? The brain is the most powerful, most staggeringly complex electrobiochemical machine ever created. Until recently, this complicated organ was thought to be static and unchangeable. Far from it. Learn from Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas, seven scientifically validated secrets anyone can implement to improve brain performance. Generously sponsored by Peter and Jennifer Roberts
ARTIST TALK Rebecca Kamen Thu, Apr 9, 6:15pm The Center, Ketchum Following the April 9 evening exhibition tour, artist Rebecca Kamen presents a lecture and slideshow about her sculptural work and its relationship to the drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, who won a 1906 Nobel Prize for his drawings of brain cells.
TEEN WORKSHOP Trick Photography with Dev Khalsa Sat & Sun, Apr 11 &12, 10am–4pm The Center, Hailey $10 pre-registration required All is not as it seems in this fun photography workshop. Sharpen your photo skills, explore the art of illusion and develop your own perspective.
Proof Feb 11–28 Liberty Theatre, Hailey $25 / $35 nonmembers / $15 students Company of Fools presents Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Auburn’s Proof. Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own emotions and is drawn into the most difficult problem of all: how much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit? Generously sponsored by Bob & Linda Edwards and Richard & Judith Smooke
ALL EVENTS ARE P R E S E N T E D F R E E OF CHARGE UNLESS O T H E R W I S E N O T E D THANKS TO THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF OUR D O N O R S A N D PAT R O N S .
SUN VALLEY CENTER FOR THE ARTS P O BOX 656 SUN VALLEY, ID 83353
This BIG IDEA project has been generously sponsored by Barbara and John Lehman.
Front Cover: Katherine Sherwood, Triggered, 2008, mixed media on canvas, courtesy the artist and Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco Back Cover: Rebecca Kamen, Resonance, 2013, acrylic on mylar, courtesy the artist
The Center hours & location in Ketchum: M–F 9am–5pm, Sats in Feb & Mar, 11am–5pm 191 Fifth Street East, Ketchum, Idaho 208.726.9491 www.sunvalleycenter.org
208.578.9122 110 N. Main Street, Hailey, Idaho