Titre : The Maze and the Thought-Catcher 

Auteurs : Sébastien Lemerle,  

Revue : Art and Science 

Numéro : Issue 4 

Volume : 7 

Date : 2023/12/21 

DOI : 10.21494/ISTE.OP.2023.1052 

ISSN : 2515-8767 

Résumé : This article looks at two works that deal with the brain and the sciences that take it as their object: The Maze (1953) by Canadian painter William Kurelek and The Various Lives of Thoughts (2009-2010) by British artist Sue Morgan. The former is a painting that uses cerebral imagery to speak of a tormented interiority, while the latter is an installation showcasing the brain sciences as they seek to explain the workings of the mind. Beyond the differences in approach, we will see that a comparison of these two works highlights the influence of the scientific referent in each case: while Kurelek’s painting is clearly influenced by a certain history of the brain sciences, relating to phrenology, psychiatry and neurology, Sue Morgan’s installation bears witness to the cultural importance acquired by the neurosciences over the last few decades, as well as to the way in which they are viewed by science and technology studies. These two works demonstrate the richness of the notion of scientific culture when it is seen as a dynamic process ranging from scientific discourse to the appropriations made of it by symbolic producers according to their own logic and trajectories. 

Éditeur : ISTE OpenScience