Awakening Scientific Discovery through Art

Professor Rebecca Kamen, sculptor and lecturer on the intersections of art and science, seeks ‘the truth’ through observation. Her artwork is informed by wide-ranging research into neuroscience, cosmology, history, and philosophy and by connecting common threads that flow across various scientific fields to capture and re-imagine what the scientists see. Kamen, Professor Emeritus of Art at Northern Virginia Community College, investigates how the arts and creativity can enhance innovation and our understanding of science. Professor Kamen is currently a Visiting Scholar and Artist-in-Resident in The Computational Neuroscience Initiative and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania.

In her presentation Professor Kamen will explore her neuroscience inspired artwork as well as research investigating the dynamics of curiosity and the creative process. She will also discuss how unexpected brain surgery (a meningioma) in 2019 and the pandemic have provided insight and inspiration in her work as an artist.

Artist residencies and collaborations with scientists have provided unique opportunities for Professor Kamen to investigate various aspects of neuroscience, such as at the Neuroscience Program at the National Institutes of Health and researching the actual drawings and archives of Santiago Ramon y Cajal at the Cajal Institute in Madri. Professor Kamen has exhibited and lectured both nationally and internationally and worked on collaborative projects at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, the Kavli Institute at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at the National Institutes of Health.