About the Event

Currently, neuroscientists are taking an interest in aesthetic experiences and have conducted numerous studies about what exactly happens in our brains as we view art. In one such study, an expert panel of scholars in the fields of neuroscience, art history, philosophy, psychology, and theology were recruited to generate a list of terms that describe visual artworks and their potential cognitive and affective impacts. The list of more than 100 terms was given to non-expert participants, who eliminated words with overlapping meaning and helped to narrow down the list to 11:  compassionate, humbled, consoled, intimately engaged, hopeful, swept away, challenged, enlightened, confused, disgusted, and upset.  

Coming to Terms presents 11 artworks, chosen for their potential to evoke one or more of these descriptive terms. You are invited to view these artworks and experience many of the different ways art can impact our emotions and cognition.  

Featured artists include Bill Dambrova, Binh Danh, Tom Eckert, Fausto Fernandez, Jill Friedberg, Carolyn Lavender, John Randall Nelson, Patricia Sannit, Diane Silver, Beth Ames Swartz, and Ellen Wagener.