“Just when you thought science geeks and art snobs had nothing in common, along comes Waves of Mu.”
– Sarah Henning, Anchorage Daily News.
“You don’t know what you’re in for. It’s a surprise that tells you something about yourself that you already know, but are not aware of. You experience what being human is all about.”
-Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran
“Kick off your shoes (literally) and step into a universe like none other. Informed by the monumental discovery of mirror neurons and created alongside world-renowned neuroscientists, (according to neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran, “The discovery of mirror neurons is the most important unpublicized story of the decade,” doing for psychology what DNA has done for biology), Amy Caron’s beautifully complex two-room installation-performance drives multidisciplinary art headlong into new territory. Her warped lab/lecture/experiment gives a nod and a wink to hard science while cleverly activating her “test subjects” to cheer, cringe, and discover through experience, a new awareness of the profundity of our interpersonal world.
The Waves of Mu experience will offer a unique multidimensional education, demonstrating the scientific and empirical integrity of mirror neurons. It will also present thought-provoking connections between mirror neuron deficiencies and autism spectrum disorders, thereby challenging our cultural concept of normality and its effect on human evolution.
Photo courtesy of Trish Empey
Waves of Mu is co-presented with the PS122 Gallery as part of Room, a commissioning program created by Performance Space 122 to encourage artists to collaborate with experts outside the traditional performing disciplines. The exhibition has been made possible through the generous support of the New York State Council of the Arts, Painting Space 122, Inc. and the Friends of PS122 Gallery.
Fri, Oct 10 – Sun, Oct 19, 2008
Tue – Sat at 7:30,
Sun at 5:30
Special Events:
Thursday, Oct 9 6PM – 10PM: Free Opening Reception for the Installation, 6pm – 10pm*
Sunday, Oct 12:
Post-performance panel discussion featuring three prominent individuals in the field of neuroscience:
Lindsay Oberman PhD (Harvard): Mirror neuron researcher, co-author on many papers with V.S. Ramachandran;
Massimo Pigliucci PhD (SUNY Stoney Brook), Philosophy of Science, evolution, biology and representative for the Center for Inquiry;
Valentina Dilda PhD (Mount Sinai), cognitive psychology and motor systems specialist who was part of the Gallese/Rizolatti lab, where mirror neurons were discovered.
*The Installation is open to the public and free of charge at The PS122 Gallery (entrance on East 9th Street) Thurs – Sun, 12pm to curtain for the duration of the run. More about PS122 Gallery: https://ps122gallery.org
