Dreams The science and the art

Notes de l'éditeur

1. For my second method I looked at The science of dreams and how artists have interpreted dreams through their work.
2. So what is a dream ? -A dream is a series of images, sounds and emotions which pass through the mind during sleep. Or a series of imaginative thoughts indulged in whilst awake known as a ‘day dream’ A dream is the communication of body , mind and spirit in a symbolic communicative state of being. As we dream some things may not be clear, random objects may have symbolic meanings to something quite different. It is a process that occurs in the subconscious mind while we are asleep. Everyday we unknowingly absorb information that gets processed in the subconscious mind whilst we are asleep. It is estimated that 6 years of an average persons life is spent in the dreamstate.
3. -Humans usually enter REM ninety minutes into sleeping and go through Stages 1-4, plus REM, 5-6 times per night -In one year, a human could have on average 1825 dreams of which the typical human remembers only a few of their dreams. REM sleep is thought to be vital for memory and learning. -The word "cognitive" refers to "thinking". "Neuro" refers to "the central nervous system - Activity of limbic, paralimbic, and associational areas of the forebrain allow for dreaming to occur -
4. -In the 19th century Sigmund Freud introduced the idea that dreams were simply a manifestation of a dreamers world desires which were then affected by the dreamers natural, physiological activity and sleeping environment -Modern psychologist Joe Griffin theorised that dreams simply fulfil a persons expectations for the day: E.g. If I hoped or expected to get a task completed like doing the washing or something important for my parents but never got a chance to do it, I may dream about carrying out the task ( in metaphorical ways) and wake up the next morning without feeling regretful or anxious. -To bring to life past memories, some that may be buried deep in the subconscious mind. -As part of paranormal activity for example religious texts often deem the origin of dreams as paranormal: there are a lot of examples from the bible where people have been delivered a message from god in a dream -Some people may have had a serious trauma which may cause them to dream about things relevant to their experiences. Dreaming may be part of a sleeping disorder such as night terrors and insomnia. If the brain is over active and a person does not get enough sleep the brain will have to do extra amounts of information processing when you finally do sleep this may cause irregular dreaming. Fears and phobias can cause nightmares.
5. -Ordinary Dreams -Day Dreams -Premonitory Dreams -Lucid Dreams -Nightmares -Telepathic Dreams -Vivid Dreams - Recurring Dreams
6. During the day our minds absorb information known to us and also information we don’t even know we are absorbing. At night the subconscious mind takes over and all this information can trigger a dream relevant to a days activities. Day dreams occur when we are awake they are visionary fantasies Nightmares are dreams of fear, containing negative content and negative emotions. Lucid dreams occur when the dreamer knows they are dreaming,they can be controlled or also be decided upon before going to sleep! Premonitory dreams is when a dreamer dreams of having an out of body experience, where they venture on a voyage of discovery, they are said to revel the future and allow the dreamer to see truths that are not seen in real life. Telepathic dreams allow the living and the dead to speak in ‘dreamland’ this is known as the language of the angels. For example dreaming of speaking to a deceased relative. Vivid dreams are ones that are very clear and the dreamer can remember every detail Recurring dreams are experienced repeatedly over a long period of time, these dreams can be quite common with a lot of people and meaning can be taken from them. The message in recurring dreams may be so important and/or powerful that it refuses to go away. The frequent repetition of such dreams forces you to pay attention and confront the dream. It is desperately trying to tell you something.  Such dreams are often nightmarish or frightening in their content, which also helps you to take notice and pay attention to them
7. Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening: Salvador Dali (1944) This is an example of Sigmund Freud's influence on surrealist art and Dali's attempts to explore the world of dreams in a dreamscape.
8. A piece of art from Jim Shaws series of “Dream Objects” that uses sculptural forms of human body parts
9. Robin Whitmore: I have learnt to draw a lifetime using one line.  J has just died- her husband sinks into a state of depression.  How can I demonstrate that unravelling the life that has departed will draw in a lifeline, hauling her out of a slump?