In this wide ranging conversation we talk about current views on the subject of 'aesthetics', as covering judgements well outside of the arts (choosing a partner, home etc..) and why studying brain and other physiological responses to individually meaningful poems can be a valuable research tool. We talk about the importance of piloerection responses (goosebumps-shivers) across a wide range of species and the tool Eugen and his colleagues have developed and used to measure this, alongside a range of more traditional measures , some of the studies undertaken and their results.

Participants:

Eugen Wassiliwizky, Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main,

Germany. https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/institut/mitarbeiterinnen/eugen-wassiliwizky.html

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Some of Eugen and his colleague's papers:

Wassiliwizky, E., & Menninghaus, W. (2021). Why and How Should Cognitive Science Care about Aesthetics? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 25(6), 437–449.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136466132100067X?via%3Dihub

Wassiliwizky, E., Koelsch, S., Wagner, V., Jacobsen, T., & Menninghaus, W. (2017). The emotional power of poetry: Neural circuitry, psychophysiology and compositional principles. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 12(8), 1229–1240.

https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/12/8/1229/3778354

Wassiliwizky, E., Jacobsen, T., Heinrich, J., Schneiderbauer, M., & Menninghaus, W. (2017). Tears falling on goosebumps: Co-occurrence of emotional lacrimation and emotional piloerection indicates a psychophysiological climax in emotional arousal. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article 41.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00041/full

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to get a clear view of a subject ask a philiosopher who has thought deeply about it. In this podcast, philosopher Owen Flanangan speaks frankly about his experience of addiction to alcohol and tranquillisers, 18 years on, and why he felt compelled to write about his experience and analysis of the problem. We talk about substance use and creativity, identity, social cohesive, marker of major life events and as a way to make life more interesting or tolerable. We talk about AA and NA and why, during his first period of recovery he avoided them, but also why they have been so useful to him subseqeuntly. Finally, Owen discusses why a broad 'ecumenical' approach to management of addiction offers the best chance of recovery (rather than a narrow psychological, social or neurological model).

Participants:

Owen Flanagan Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Neurobiology, Duke University, North Carolina, https://www.neuro.duke.edu/profile/owen-flanagan

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Owen's book WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN ADDICT?: https://academic.oup.com/book/59281?login=false

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tricia is a dancer, teacher and the author of two historical novels based around dance and dancers. In this podcast she talks about the experience of dancing solo and in a group and her writing. Her most recent book, and a related performance piece, is a memoir/journal of the final days of her parent that also tracks her regular attendance at a circus school alongside memories of her childhood and youth. We discuss her route into dance and the seminal influence of time spent learning contemporary in Amsterdam in the 1970s. She tell us about 'The Green Table', a dance created by Kurt Jooss in Germany that satirised powerful elites, and the inspiration behind her first novel. She incorporates extracts from her most recent book 'Upside down in a hoop' with newly acquired circus hoop skills in a performance peice that deals with the loss of her parents to dementia, and her surprise at the very warm response it has provoked. Tricia concludes by telling us about her next writing project.

Participants:

Tricia Durdey, contemporary dancer, teacher, writer Tricia's website

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Tricia's books:

Upside down in a hoop:

The Green Table:

The dancer at the world's end:

Extracts prom Tricia's performance piece and more conversation

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following on from the last episode, today we consider how neurosicnetists investigate the brain in relation to dance. Peter talks about his background as a classical musician before branching into the psychology and then neuroscience of dance. He explains the complexity of the subject - the many variables at play during dance and between dancers - and what progress has been made to understand the neural basis of ance. We talk about therapeutic uses of dance and studies of social cohesion promoted by dance. We wander into evolution and species differences before talking about the future of the subject.

Participants:

Peter Keller, Professor of Neuroscience, Centre for Music and the Brain, University of Aarhus, Denmark. https://www.au.dk/[email protected]/

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Links to papers from Peter's department:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763424002859?via%3Dihub

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763423001665?via%3Dihub

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763423004918?via%3Dihub

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adrian Look, London-based choreographer and specialist in German 'Tanztheatre', talks about the origin of Tanztheatre within the 1920s Germany expressionist movement, tand aken to the next level by Pina Bausch in the modern era. Adrian talks about his unusual entry into dance, after a background of sport and philosophy. He discusses his reasons for coming to London, to be free of the over-respectful approach to the Bausch legacy, his experience as a dancer and his approach to choreography. We talk about his work on the 'Brainland' project, as an example of his working method (working with dancers of a wide range of ages). We concludes by talking about his current projects and material he would like to work with in future.

Participants:

Adrian Look, Teacher and Choreographer, Director of Tanztheatre Adrian Look. https://tanztheateradrianlook.com/ ; http://www.lookatmovement.co.uk/

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

For more on Adrian's choreography: https://tanztheateradrianlook.com/productions/

For more on his teaching: http://www.lookatmovement.co.uk/locations/

For more on Pina Bausch: https://www.pinabausch.org/en/post/biography

For more on the history of Tanztheatre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanztheater

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast philosopher Walter Veit outlines five elements of conscious experience he believes can be scientifically explored,

why and when, in evolutionary terms, those elements first appeared. He explains his concept of 'pathological complexity', which of those five may have appeared first, and the ethical imperatives that underpin animal consciousness research. After talking about slugs, octopuses and corvids we end with a discussion on how his approach may assist in creating machines that are in some sense conscious.

Participants:

Walter Veit, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Reading, UK. External Member at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy' Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.https://walterveit.com/

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Walter's book, 'A PHILOSOPHY FOR THE SCIENCE OF ANIMAL CONSCIOUSNESS': is here: https://www.routledge.com/A-Philosophy-for-the-Science-of-Animal-Consciousness/Veit/p/book/9781032343617#:~:text=This%20book%20aims%20to%20advance%20a%20true%20Darwinian,integrate%20consciousness%20into%20an%20evolutionary%20view%20of%20life.

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, Nick Lane talks about his path to research in the rarefied field of evolutionary biochemistry, before describing some of the pioneers of biochemistry and the aesthetic pleasure he takes in their experimental designs. He gives a jargon free account of the Krebs cycle, the central metabolic pathway of life and the basis of his most recent book 'Transformer'. We discuss the origin of mitochondria, the mind boggling number of chemical reactions that takes in them each second and the possibly far reaching consequences of electrical and magnetic fields they generate (a possible source of the EEG!). Nick concludes by talking about his work on the mode of action of anaesthetic agents. Great conversation.

Participants:

Nick Lane, Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry, University College, London. https://nick-lane.net/

Ken Barrett, visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Nick's book,'Transformer': https://nick-lane.net/books/transformer-the-deep-chemistry-of-life-and-death

A diagram of the Krebs (citric acid): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle#/media/File:Citric_acid_cycle_with_aconitate_2.svg

Opening and closing music: Prelude to 'Brainland', the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective #brainlandthepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast we complete the series on memory and cinema with an in-depth look at the way Alzheimer's disease/progressive cognitive impairment has been depicted in the movies this century. Raquel discusses her unusual route to studying and writing about this subject, via the work of a contemporary Spanish poet, then, before focussing on the three very different films listed below, we talk about the way different cultures represent the subject and the marked and predictable gender differences is the cinematic representation of cognitive decline. We explore the way several biopics, including 'Iris' and 'Still Alice' highlight disability, loss and burden, whereas more recent films focus on surprising positives, including deepening love, new creative departures and coping strategies. We also explore the idea of historical memory of traumatic national events and how this has been woven into films, The Eternal Memory being one example.

Participants

Raquel Medina, Dean of Area Studies & Assistant Dean of Faculty, IES Abroad, Barcelona, Spain. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Raquel-Medina

Ken Barrett visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Raquel's book 'Cinematic Representaions of Alzheimer's Disease': https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-53371-5

The films discussed:

The Father(2021): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10272386/

The Eternal Memory (released in 2024 in the UK and available in the UK on BBC iPlayer, in January 2025) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24082488/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1

Poetry (2010): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1287878/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1

Opening and closing music: Prelude to Brainland the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Film historian and science fiction specialist Mark Bould discusses the Lem novel and Tarkovsky film 'Solaris'. After an in depth exploration of the life and work of Lem and Tarkovsy, Mark outlines the plot discusses the unusual way in which Tarkovsky tells the story. We discuss traumatic memory and the links to earlier gothic stories and hauntings. We take a detour into the role of the EEG in the story and the possible origins of that before exploring Tarkovsky's use of sound in the film. We conclude with a brief discussion of the 2002 Soderburgh remake of Solaris, it's place in that director's work and how it contrasts with the original.

Participants:

Mark Bould, professor of Film and Literature, University of the West of England: https://westengland.academia.edu/MarkBould

Ken Barrett visual artist, writer and former neuropsychiatrist.http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Mark's book on Solaris:https://shop.bfi.org.uk/solaris-bfi-film-classics.html

Solaris the Lem novel: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/solaris/author/stanislaw-lem/pics/?ref_=ps_ms_363834005&cm_mmc=msn-_-uk_dsa_srp-_-naa-_-naa&msclkid=958c7519f54a1dc330fc12926fc0d005

Solaris the Tarkovsky film: Solaris the Tarkovsky film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069293/

Opening and closing music: Prelude to Brainland the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Brainland podcast began by exploring the historical background of our opera "Brainland". At the end of 2023 we filmed a scene from the opera, directed by Chaira D'Anna and choreography by Adrian Look, in collaboration with Morely College and the Old Operating Theatre Museum in London. The film was nominated in the best short film category at the Messina Cinema and Opera Festival in Sicily, in December 2024, and won the Special Jury Prize! Before the awards were announced artistic director, Ninni Panzera, agreed to sit down with Chiara and I and answer some questions about the festival. Chiara translated the answers, with a little help from AI, and co-librettist Andy Platman voiced the English version. Ninni tells us about his background as the long term director of the Taomina Arts Festival in Sicily and how his long history in the history of cinema and more recent interest in opera in cinema, lead him to create this festival. The conversation shifts from the influence of oepratic plots on cionema, especially in the silent era, to 1930s barber's shop calendars via the use of opera to tell products on adverts. He talks about the wide range of content in the festival including several Italian premiers, as well as several early films, including a 1913 silent film of Marriage of Figaro with a live chamber group.

Participants:

Ninni Panzera, Artistic Director of the Messina Cinema and Opera Festival.

Chiara D'Anna, director, actor, teacher and Commedia Dell'Arte specialist.https://www.chiaradanna.com/

Ken Barrett, artist and writer, retired neuropsychiatrist http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

The festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6mrH0ezmq0

Trailer for the Brainland the movie: https://vimeo.com/1032229461

Opening and closing music: Prelude to Brainland the opera by Stephen Brown.

Brainland the opera website: www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk

Follow us us on Instagram:#brainlandcollective

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.