Laterality: We all have two minds.
"Each hemisphere (of the human brain) has its own private sensations, perceptions, thoughts, and ideas all of which are cut off from the corresponding experiences in the opposite hemisphere....In many respects each disconnected hemisphere appears to have a separate 'mind of its own'."
-Nobel Laureate
Roger Sperry
Dr. Roger Sperry's research into the separate functions of the two hemispheres of the human brain has many implications for the teaching and learning of the visual arts. How students/artists proportionally utilize these "two separate minds" they possess will determine the realization of their disciplined, artistic potential.
It is not enough for the art educator to know the superficial characteristics of the two hemispheres as it has entered the popular press (for example, misconceptions such as, artists are right brained, creative thinkers, and scientists are verbal and analytical, left brained thinkers). A deeper understanding of how the two hemispheres function and interact is necessary to design effective brain-based visual education strategies. The goals of sound brain-based visual education ought to be:
* to teach an understanding of and respect for the functions of the right hemisphere of the brain.
* to encourage students to heavily utilize the functions of the right hemisphere as a foundation for disciplined artistic thinking.
* to focus on the integration and synchronization of all brain functions (both left and right) in ways that are characteristics of disciplined, creative artists.
Two scientific experiments reveal the "separate minds" of the two hemispheres:
Principles
Basic Knowledge
Divided Brain
Negative Views of Right Hemisphere
Creativity and Synchronization
II. Brain Synchronicity and Creativity
III. Brain Synchronicity and Creativity
Implications for Art Education
Brain Based Home