Sarah Gibbard Cook
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Left Brain, Right Brain

5/7/2018

2 Comments

 
Corrine is a visual artist. In response to my second-anniversary invitation to suggest a blog topic related to writing, reading, history, imagination, or the creative life, she writes, “Your five broad topics are a part of all of my art projects. I love to include words and read a lot to find just the right ones, or they find me. I research the history in art techniques and creations to fuel my imagination and creativity.”

The part that swirls in my mind most persistently is her use of words in visual art. I’ve heard since childhood that verbal and visual processing are distinct phenomena, opposites even. Pop psychology says left-brainers deal in language and logic, while right-brainers generate creativity and art. Where does that leave those of us whose creative medium is language?

Barring brain injury, the sides of the brain work together, though their differences are real. The left is more involved in speech, the right more attuned to “Aha!” moments. The right perceives an image and the left concocts a story to interpret it. Brain scans refute the myth that being rational or intuitive reflects which side dominates. Both analysis and creativity emerge in the connections between the halves. As Corrine suggests, art draws on all the parts working together.
2 Comments
Corrine
5/7/2018 08:51:22 am

Exactly. Long ago I got to participate in a test at work about brain dominance. That test concluded I was equally dominant and made decisions only by wearying of the debate. Sounded like me at the time. Still does. Except that I love the debate.

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Sarah link
5/7/2018 09:17:23 am

Love your test result! The notion of "the debate" makes me think we can think of complementary functions as competing/conflicting with each other or working together to create a larger whole. Which in turn makes me wonder if we could reframe (some) human differences in a more creative, positive light . . . but that's a whole other can of worms.

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    I'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin. 

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