{"product_id":"reductionism-in-art-and-brain-science-9780231179638","title":"Reductionism in Art and Brain Science","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric R. Kandel shows how science can inform the way we experience a work of art and seek to understand its meaning. He illustrates how reductionism—distillation of larger scientific or aesthetic concepts into smaller components—has been used by scientists and artists alike to pursue their respective truths.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEric R. Kandel seamlessly moves between the intricacies of science and art, weaving their histories into a common narrative that illuminates both fields and shows they have more in common than is often assumed. It is a fun and informative read that anyone with a curious mind can enjoy and learn from. -- Joseph LeDoux, author of \u003ci\u003eAnxious: Using the Brain to Understand and Treat Fear and Anxiety\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKandel's book, with one foot in the humanities and one foot in the sciences, stands comfortably in both. Writing in deceptively simple prose, not unlike the art he writes about, Kandel lucidly states the biological case for how abstract art challenges us to look so that we can see. -- Jim Coddington, chief conservator, Museum of Modern Art\u003cbr\u003eWords like 'genius' or 'renaissance man' are rarely used in these egalitarian times, but such descriptions wouldn't be entirely inappropriate for Kandel, who is renowned for his work on memory. He has now written a remarkable book full of poetic insights without compromising scientific rigor. -- V. S. Ramachandran, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAiming to lessen the gap between the cultures of art and science, Kandel forwards new ways of considering abstract art through the model of reductionism: less is more when it comes to stimulating the brain's creative abilities and our aesthetic responses. -- Emily Braun, Distinguished Professor of Art History, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY\u003cbr\u003eIn this engaging and brilliant exploration, Kandel illuminates the beauty and power of both abstract art and the brain and mind that unravels it. It is a bold and exciting story about the modern revolution in art and brain science that bridges the traditional chasm between the culture of the arts and sciences and helps us understand and experience the most challenging art with the depth it deserves and the joy it enables. -- Walter Mischel, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Marshmallow Test\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEric Kandel's new book,\u003ci\u003e Reductionism in Art and Brain Science\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautiful integration of visual art and neuroscience. The book engages C.P. Snow's theme of two cultures- the humanities and the sciences- and provides an artful window into the science of the mind through his fourteen nicely written chapters that include elegant figures in visual art and neuroscience. While the book de-mythologizes the idea of reductionism, it also importantly provides a sense for knowing an object and the objects to be known. This is a must read for both neuroscientists and anyone interested in the visual arts and humanities. -- Jay Schulkin, Georgetown University\u003cbr\u003e[A] fascinating survey of mind science and modern art.... Kandel presents concepts to ponder that may open new avenues of art making and neuroscientific endeavor. * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e[An] intriguing treatise. * Nature *\u003cbr\u003eRecommended for those interested in the intersection of psychology and art. * Library Journal *\u003cbr\u003eThe effort to complete this book will be well rewarded.... C.P. Snow would be proud. * Neurology Today *\u003cbr\u003eUnique and thought-provoking. * Times Higher Education *\u003cbr\u003eElegant and entertaining. * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003e[Eric Kandel's] new book offers one of the freshest insights into art history in many years. * Salon *\u003cbr\u003eA pleasure to read * FASEB Journal *\u003cbr\u003eThe result is an intriguing, thought provoking book which will appeal to those with pre-existing knowledge but also to those who may be unfamiliar but curious. -- Megan Kenny, University of Huddersfield * The British Society for Literature and Science *\u003cbr\u003eKandel makes an important contribution with this book; he lucidly describes the very active interplay across disciplines that has taken place with regard to exploring how information is managed and understood, and then related across artistic mediums, scientific research, and socially, through sharing of ideas and findings. * PsycCritiques *\u003cbr\u003eKandel’s theory of how are our neurons fire in response to abstract art is illuminating. . . . One looks forward to hearing more from Kandel, a most inventive scholar, now that his bridge has been solidly built. * The New Criterion *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart I: Two Cultures Meet in the New York School\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e1. The Emergence of an Abstract School of Art in New York\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart II: A Reductionist Approach to Brain Science\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2. The Beginning of a Scientific Approach to the Perception of Art\u003cbr\u003e3. The Biology of the Beholder's Share: Visual Perception and Bottom-Up Processing in Art\u003cbr\u003e4. The Biology of Learning and Memory: Top-Down Processing in Art\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart III: A Reductionist Approach to Art\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5. Reductionism in the Emergence of Abstract Art\u003cbr\u003e6. Mondrian and the Radical Reduction of the Figurative Image\u003cbr\u003e7. The New York School of Painters\u003cbr\u003e8. How the Brain Processes and Perceives Abstract Images\u003cbr\u003e9. From Figuration to Color Abstraction\u003cbr\u003e10. Color and the Brain\u003cbr\u003e11. A Focus on Light\u003cbr\u003e12. A Reductionist Influence on Figuration\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart IV: The Emerging Dialogue Between Abstract Art and Science\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e13. Why Is Reductionism Successful in Art?\u003cbr\u003e14. A Return to the Two Cultures\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003eReferences\u003cbr\u003eIllustration Credits\u003cbr\u003eIndex","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48864257442135,"sku":"9780231179638","price":18.04,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780231179638.jpg?v=1722271103","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/reductionism-in-art-and-brain-science-9780231179638","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}