From the cave paintings at Lascaux to contemporary murals

Why Do We Paint on Walls?

The urge to mark one’s presence on walls has accompanied humankind for thousands of years. What is the nature of this impulse –neurologically, evolutionarily, and ethically?

Combining research on neuroaesthetics with literary practice, the author will take listeners on a journey from prehistoric handprints, through the brain’s reward mechanisms, to the ethical tensions surrounding art created without permission in public spaces.

At the heart of the lecture is the thesis that street art is the last bastion of the uncontrolled image.

The lecture combines science with a personal perspective and the voices of artists from Warsaw, Berlin, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, and Melbourne.