In Conversation: David Byrne and Janna Levin on the Mind, Theater, and the Elusive Self
Legendary, award-winning artist David Byrne joins in conversation with astrophysicist Janna Levin, director of sciences at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. Byrne co-created an immersive science theater project opening in Denver in September. Theater of the Mind uses narrative to explore perception, memory, attention, and our sense of self, and incorporates the work of neuroscience labs Byrne and his collaborator Mala Gaonkar have visited. Similarly, Levin’s work at Pioneer Works speaks out for science as part of culture. They reflected on considerations of the self, science, art, and the spirit of collaboration. As TOTM cautions: The brain may wander. Side effects may include a distrust of your own senses, a disorientation of self, and a mild to severely good time.
Presented by the Aspen Institute Arts Program at the Aspen Ideas Festival.