DR. GREG DUNN IN COLLABORATION WITH DR. BRIAN EDWARDS | ACTION POTENTIAL, 2017

DR. GREG DUNN IN COLLABORATION WITH DR. BRIAN EDWARDS

Action Potential, 2017

22k handmade gilded microetching (24 x 32 inches, framed to 28 x 36 inches). Number 4 of a limited edition of 10.

The triggering of an action potential is one of the foundational principles on which the brain operates. Action Potential is an animated microetching that simulates how a neuron receives and integrates incoming signals from connected neurons to trigger an action potential. Incoming action potentials from the small neurons hit the dendrites of the large neuron while their collective input builds through the large neuron’s dendrites. When these signals simultaneously reach the cell body, they trigger the large neuron to fire its own action potential. While this piece is a study of how input velocities, locations, and relative strengths influence a downstream neuron’s ability to fire, it is also an artistic experiment exploring the explosive beauty of the process. Action potentials are the fundamental processes by which we think, feel, taste, and accomplish every task our brain carries out.

Microetchings are handmade lithographs that manipulate light on a microscopic scale to control the reflectivity of metallic surfaces in precise ways. These techniques were invented by Dr. Greg Dunn and his colleague Dr. Brian Edwards in order to change the way in which the viewer experiences a painting. Please note that these microetchings are designed to evolve based on the moving perspective of the viewer and are impossible to capture in still images.

PROVENANCE:

Courtesy of the artist