Welcome to the
DENDRITE DREAM DISCO
I worked with about 180 high school students and several collaborative artists & scientists to create this giant brain that you can walk into and interact with. While the students came up with the majority of the concepts, David Lipson (a professor of Microbiology at SDSU & conceptual artist) played a major role in conception and actualization of many technical concepts.
As people enter the 10 foot brain they could interact with the specific parts of the brain, and the part would respond as that part is supposed to function. There was also a dream sequence that would occur if a person stimulated the part of the brain stem considered to be the dream center.
As people enter the 10 foot brain they could interact with the specific parts of the brain, and the part would respond as that part is supposed to function. There was also a dream sequence that would occur if a person stimulated the part of the brain stem considered to be the dream center.
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First, I educated students on the genre of installation art. This included interactive installation, along with a look at the history and contemporary artists. |
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We studied some basics of Neuroscience (How the human brain works).
I consulted Dr. Jacopo Annese of The Brain Observatory to be sure we were studying correctly.
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Next, students conducted specific research dependent on their personal direction of interest. |
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As part of our exploration, we did a field trip downtown to the WNDR Museum and The Brain Observatory.
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First, we hit the WNDR Museum to experience amazing technology based interactive installation art. They hosted us for free! Thanks WNDR Museum!
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After a nice walk across town with a picnic in a grassy park, we rolled into The Brain Observatory. This facility was founded by a neuroscientist from UCSD, Dr. Jacopo Annese. Students listened to an excellent lecture, then got to try activities that showed how their minds worked. The final activity included the handling a real human brain! It was a fantastic day! |
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Our next step was Student Proposals. Now educated in the basics of Neuroscience, each student wrote out an illustrated proposal on how to share this knowledge with grade school kids via interactive installation. The proposals included wall murals, ceiling, floor, sound effects, & interactive activities within the installation. I used as many of their ideas as possible to design the installation.
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Our PLAN: Audience would be invited to draw a dream that they remember at an outside workshop table. Then they would bring it into the installation to place it in the memory area of the brain. The entrance will be the 5 stages of conciousness, ending with a REM doorway. The installation itself would be a giant brain that people could walk into and interact with. The parts of the brain would be labeled and have buttons that if pushed would perform the function of that brain part. In order to make it round (like a brain) we'd use a translucent pop-up tent. Murals around the outside would show neurons in sequences and a labeled brain mural. The floor would also be a brain. Lots of brains! The optical lobe could be stimulated through an eyeball to set off a projector and the auditory cortex would host a big ear that you could talk into and abstract your voice. The Amygdala would set of fight or flight scary sounds: dogs barking, police sirens, angy shouts. The Hind Brain would sound off with heart beat & slow breathing. Frontal Lobe will share Bach & Jazz music. We will create a big sculpture of the Brain Stem to place in the center of the brain tent.
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Other students worked on the labeled human brain mural that would become the back wall. First they laid out the design, then began painting it in. |
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Several students made the floor by cutting out a old carpet into a 10 foot circle, and flipped it over to paint it as a brain! (They painted over last year's old project) |
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The front painting mural, also hosted a doorway. They cut it out in the shape of a human head and started painting! |
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A set of students sculpted the brain stem. They bolted together a couple buckets and tied on ropes. Later, Mr. Rogalski covered this with insulation goop that looked like brain. They painted it and added labels. |
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We put up our pop-up tent inside the classroom and hung the murals on it. Things are getting serious now! |
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Students are creating huge eyes & ears out of foam core boards. These will be inside the brain for the audience to interact with. |
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We got our tent!!!
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On our last day of work, students made signs and labeled the brain. |
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Dr. Lipson says that he has built all the tech requested by the students using arduinos & fiber optic line! |
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The front entrance mural was looking fantastic! |
And, just like that...we were done!
Ready to install at the Festival of Science & Engineering!
Ready to install at the Festival of Science & Engineering!
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I took the next day off work and met Dr. Lipson who had worked tirelessly to fabricate the electronics to make lights flash and sounds happen inside the brain. We installed at Petco Park! Tomorrow would be The Festival of Science & Engineering: EXPO DAY!...Thousands would attend!!! |
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We set up a workshop area next to our tent. Audience would be prompted to draw a dream and then bring it into the brain to add it into the memory. Many students arrived throughout the day to run the dream workshop!
Our project was wildly popular and usually had a line to get in! |
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Inside the Brain was a wild cacophony of warped sounds and flashing lights as people interacted with the different parts of the brain! |
Over the course of the 8 hour event, between 800-1000 people came through our brain! Multitudes of my students came to run the installation. It was a FANTASTIC DAY!
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The Brain Observatory contacted us and asked if we could install The Brain in their facility the following week to be exhibited at a series of events. We agreed to share it. Here it is at The Brain Observatory!!! |
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SPECIAL THANKS TO:
The Art Students of Patrick Henry for design & fabrication-
Dr. David Lipson for concept dev., tech & tour guiding-
Derek Drudge & David Samas for soundtracks-
Dr. Jacopo Annese for hosting our fieldtrip-
Biology Through Art for paint-
The Patrick Henry Foundation for funding-
The Art Students of Patrick Henry for design & fabrication-
Dr. David Lipson for concept dev., tech & tour guiding-
Derek Drudge & David Samas for soundtracks-
Dr. Jacopo Annese for hosting our fieldtrip-
Biology Through Art for paint-
The Patrick Henry Foundation for funding-