NEUROSCIENCE OF ART / ART OF NEUROSCIENCE Join us for an evening at MIT with artist Todd Siler and MIT neuroscientists from The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. REGISTER HERE In 1986, Todd Siler became the first visual artist to be awarded a doctorate from MIT in recognition for his exploratory work in the field of Interdisciplinary Studies in Psychology and Art. He also received a Master of Science in Visual Studies from MIT’s Center for Advanced Visual Studies in 1981. Siler’s short presentation will highlight some examples of his art installations, such as "Thought Assemblies” and "The Brain Theater of Imagination," that explore the creative process and applied innovative thinking. "I make art about the brain, and learn about the brain through art. This remains my lifelong passion and challenge: discovering how the human mind constantly learns about itself by studying its countless creations," Siler relates in his Artist's Statement. "My metaphorical artworks intimate how the brain and all its creations are connected to nature, and how nature connects everything it creates." In 2011, the World Cultural Council awarded Todd Siler the “Leonardo da Vinci” World Award of Arts 'in recognition of his extraordinary creative and innovative contributions to contemporary and visual arts, for stimulating creativity, inspiring innovation and uniting art and science to enrich the experience of creative learning.' A reception will follow with open table discussions with MIT neuroscientists and personal reflections and tours by Siler on his five artworks that were gifts from Robert Lawrence Kuhn to The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT (2016). The artworks are dedicated to Dr. Stephan L. Chorover, MIT Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, who catalyzed the long friendship between Todd and Robert, sharing his lifelong passion for neuroscience and improving the human condition.