The 'Left and Right' cityscapes.

Lateralization of brain function with specialized roles for each hemisphere has been around for quite some time now; in-fact, long enough to have spawned conversational cliches, creativity being a so-called 'right-brained' function. The idea that anatomically similar, or equal halves should have their own agendas while being part of one whole has always fascinated me.

The older names- 'dominant' and 'nondominant' are outmoded now, and rightly so, since how can such comparative terms be used when functions differ! The left brain, now called the 'categorical' hemisphere, specializes in analytical thinking, rationality and logic, apart from being the seat of language. The right brain or the 'representational' hemisphere handles all things intuitive and artistic.

As far as the visuospatial aspect is concerned, the categorical hemisphere has an eye for detail. I remember reading about a case study in which patients with damage on the right side of the head- working with effectively only a left brain- remember only details of what they see, but fail to see the whole picture. The right, on the other hand, sees a 'holistic' picture: no numbers and decimals, thank you, but shapes and sizes and comparisons.

How does one represent this on a canvas? The (rather obvious) idea was to divide the picture into two halves, and try to 'separate' the functions in these two- and thus the four paintings which follow. I chose to paint cities as they abound in sensory stimuli, and we have little details and lofty forms all coming together beautifully. In the first three, the left side is done in a style depicting details, in legitimately city-like colours and lines. The right side is more abstract, done using drips and colours which may seem out of place, but yet, giving us an overall idea of forms.

In the fourth painting, the left gets stuck with a rather boring white-and-black version, while the right is red. This follows the additional role of the left hemisphere to 'put away' things in everyday life which are usual or mundane, while the right is activated by any sort of surprise. Here, the surprise lies in the unusual colouring.

Of course, its occurred to me, a tad late, that if the functions are to be separated, per se, the left ought to be just a myriad of details rather than a realistic view. Perhaps in a subsequent painting. Also, since creativity is a right domain, does painting in itself negate all things left?