Brushstrokes Of Genius

Neuroscience and the fine arts, together at last. It seems like a match made in Opposite Backwards Mirror Land, but Penn PhD candidate Greg Dunn has managed to pair the two quite harmoniously.

In an interview and slideshow featured on The Huffington Post yesterday, Dunn discussed his paintings, which utilize Japanese minimalist painting techniques to illustrate the structure of human neurons. (Seriously, go click that link. These are really cool.) Dunn explains that the aesthetically simple painting style, with its sharp contrast and negative space, is an evocative medium for conveying the complexity--and beauty--of the human mind. Indeed, Dunn's paintings seem like the rare illustration appropriate for both a biology textbook and a gallery wall.

Kudos to this ingenue for his creativity. Just think what other awesome medicine-art partnerships we have to look forward to! Interpretive dances illustrating the respiratory system? Sculptures made of squished-up organs? A First Friday event at HUP with free glucose bags for all? We can only imaaaagine.