Lefties in Art?

What’s the deal with all these lefties in art school? They only make up about 10% of the population but they’re swarming all over our nations art school campuses. It’s becoming a problem. I mean they’ve embedded themselves into our art culture and the roots run deeper than you might think. Have you ever heared of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, M.C. Escher, or Hans Holbein? Guess what. They were all left handed! That’s right. Almost ALL of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were left handed. Scared? You should be.

Let’s get to the guts of the issue. Your brain. Your brain as a whole is split right down the middle, giving you two sides of a brain, or hemispheres. The hemispheres each control certain things more than the opposing hemisphere, and people almost always have a dominant side. Everyone uses their brain differently or not at all, and the differences range from person to person, and even from male to female. Studies have shown women to have more symmetrical brains than men, and that women’s communication skills are higher than men’s while men tend to be better with spatial reasoning and lifting weights, although the weights are unrelated. See how my communication is starting to falter here? I‘m a dude. So, lets get back on track.

So what does this have to do with creepy left handed people in art? Well this comes down to the dominant hemisphere for each person. Studies have shown while the left hemisphere tends to be the seat of language and processes in a logical and sequential order, the right is much more visual and creative and excels in art and music. So if you’re all artsy fartsy then your right hemisphere is most likely the dominant. Also the left of the brain controls the right side of the body, while the right controls the left. So here’s the thing with lefties. The left side of your body is controlled by you right hemisphere, then lefties have a close personal relationship with their right hemisphere, which is the hemisphere that excels in music and art! Snap! This doesn’t of course mean ALL left handed people must be artistic. Like I mentioned earlier, everyone’s brains are different, and there are plenty of artistic right handed people out there and according to this they would be pulling from their left hemisphere. Nevertheless it is a strange connection.

-Randall Fischer


References

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~studskl/hd/hemis.html
(Differences Between Left and Right Hemisphere)

http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=656
(Left Hand, Left Brain: The Plot Thickens)

http://www.csulb.edu/~pamela/readings/Gender_Identity.pdf
(Brain Study Focuses on Gender Identity)

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/split.html
(Neuroscience For Kids)

Logical or Conceptual

It is evident that people function differently when it comes down to learning or seeing which profession fits best. Studies have shown that these characteristics are controlled by the brain, but exactly which part of the brain allows one person to be logical and analytic while another person imaginative and non-verbal? Though everyone only has one brain, it is split into two cerebral hemispheres, the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. Commonly known as left brain right brain. Each hemisphere has different functions and communicate to each other through a band of 200-250 million nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. People are either left-hemisphere dominant or right-hemisphere dominant, and on rare occations people are a 50/50 balance of both sides of the brain. Which ever dominant side of the brain you are is apparent in which hand you prefer to write with. The right side of the brain controls muscles on the left side of your body while the left side of your brain controls muscles on the right. These two sides of the brain have other functions as well as muscle control. The left hemisphere controls language, math, and logic while the right hemisphere controls spatial awareness, face recognition, visual imagery, and music. Those that are right hemisphere dominant are more likely to be the conceptual thinkers while those that are left hemisphere dominant are more likely to be the logical thinkers. Though it is still a mystery as to why exactly are people dominant on one side of the brain over the other, we can at least rest knowing what part of their brain allows them to be the way they are.

-Beth Li

References:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A659874

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-it-true-that-creativit

image from: http://startheory.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/tears-in-space/

Ryan Cleveland
Brain Awareness Week
Individual Pro-Statement

Our question pertains to the age-old "left brain, right brain" principals and what role each
separate hemisphere plays in the creative process. Does one side favor creativity over the other?

The first article I found on the subject was by Leslie J. Rogers entitled, Seeking the Right Answers About Right Brain - Left Brain. in this article, she claims that the belief that left handed people are right brained and therefore more creative is false. She asserts that human brains were once thought to be unique in the sense that the two hemispheres of our brain are not identical, an occurrence known as brain lateralization. Her research indicates that you can't draw conclusions about a person's level of intelligence or creativity based on their hand preference, as it varies from one task to another much more so than does the lateralization of the brain itself.

The second article I visited on the subject was called Left Hand, Left Brain: The Plot Thickens, by Carolyn Asbury. Her work indicates that left and right handedness is genetically determined, contrary to previous longstanding beliefs. However, this leads me to question whether or not she is suggesting that a person's creativity and intelligence is thereby determined genetically as well.

The third and final article I read on this subject was one by Dennis Kinney, Steven Pritzker and Ruth Louise Richards entitled Creativity, Talents, and Skills -- The Dana Guide. Their research into the subject suggests that it is wrong to believe that one individual side of the brain is exclusive to creativity alone. In fact, when recent right brain/left brain tests have been conducted, it becomes apparent that both hemispheres of the brain work to perform tasks that were once thought to be limited to one side alone.

- Ryan Cleveland

References:

- Rogers, Leslie J. "Seeking the Right Answers About Right Brain-Left Brain" The Dana Foundation October 21, 2003 www.dana.org
-Asbury, Carolyn "Left Hand, Left Brain: The Plot Thickens" The Dana Foundation October 1, 2005 www.dana.org
-Kinney, Dennis Pritzker, Steven R. Louise Richards, Ruth "Creativity, Talents, and Skills -- The Dana Guide" The Dana Foundation November 2007 www.dana.org

The Lateralized Brain

It has been a widely accepted fact that the right and left hemispheres of the brain have control over different bodily functions and tasks, referred to as hemispheric specialization or brain lateralization. However, despite their differences, both hemispheres do share the common understanding of language and are physically connected by a segment called the corpus callosum.

The left hemisphere of the brain is dominated by logic and language, therefore pertaining to a more orderly and academic fashion of functions. It specializes in producing language and processing information. The left hemisphere is responsible for making the rational decisions that need to be made right before responding.

On the other hand, while the left hemisphere is managing the systematic and logical information we absorb as humans, the right hemisphere gets to participate as the center for creativity, talents and skills. This is probably why people have come to the possible conclusion that left-handed individuals withhold artistic skills due to their brains being right hemisphere dominant, which may or may not be a completely accurate fact. Furthermore, the right hemisphere is used for spatial awareness and the expression of dynamic emotions. This fact could possibly explain why artists in general are more emotional since they utilize their right hemispheres more when being creative. Unlike the left hemisphere of the brain, the right hemisphere is responsible for the rapid responses that are demanded or intense emotions that are called upon when decisions need to be made.

Overall, brain lateralization has proved to be important for the uses of language, movement, and emotions and the differences of the two separate hemispheres should be viewed as a collaboration of functions to create the essence of our complex brains.

-Rana A.

References:

http://www.dana.org/news/brainhealth/detail.aspx?id=10042

http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=2964