Life of a Neuron is an exhibition by ARTECHOUSE in partnership with the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). ARTECHOUSE is a showroom for projects that bring together various elements of art, science and technology. The space is built for “experiential art” and their mission includes, “inspiring genre pushing artists to create with technology.” ARTECHOUSE looks to be evolving in numerous directions, veering between a gallery, a museum, and an adult playground. Couples and their infused drinks were strewn throughout the main exhibit.
The exhibition lives up to their mission to create experiential art. After a short introduction in a separate room, visitors are released in groups into the exhibit, onto a loft at the far end of a long bar, overlooking the Life of a Neuron. Projected onto the floor and all three walls below the loft is a video playing the birth and death of a neuron in the neocortex. I wouldn’t call the silent video informative but it was very beautiful. The blurb for the video was upstairs by the bar. Most of the couples were to be found down stairs on the floor against the pillars, romantically gazing at the neuron.
Off to the side of the bar and the main room were smaller interactive exhibits. All of them reacted to different movements and represented different functions of the brain. The blurbs gave me a relative idea of what function was being represented but the exhibit still felt more playground than science fair. The installations are all by various artists (Synthestruct, Yamashita Fuse, Gil Castro, and Server Demetrius) and presumably informed by scientists. Life of a Neuron runs from May 14th to November 13th in their NYC location, one of three along with D.C and Miami Beach.