“We are increasingly interested
in relevant subjects that impact the lives of everyone, even when those topics are difficult to
understand. For a cultural institution whose identity is rooted in the field of visual arts,
dealing with science is an intellectual and political challenge: how do we make an exhibition
about ideas and knowledge? With the support of the ‘Human Brains’ scientific board, we
asked ourselves how to give voice to scientists and researchers, how to get them in contact
with a wider audience, how to combine scientific rigor with an approach understandable to
all. We are convinced that talking about the human brain means talking about the human
being. Focusing on the uniqueness of our brain helps us understand the influence that
scientific research has in our lives and the broader progress of culture.”
Miuccia Prada
President Fondazione Prada
Ca Corner della Regina - Fondazione Prada
Human Brains - It Begins with an Idea
In the beautiful Palazzo Ca Corner della Regina home to the Fondazione Prada in Venice, the exhibition - Human Brains: It begins with an Idea - until November 27 - curated by Udo Kittelmann in collaboration with
Taryn Simon - covers three floors of the building, it is the result of a long and in-depth
research process carried out with Fondazione Prada and the scientific board. The exhibition is the result of an intensive investigative process
undertaken since 2018 by Fondazione Prada in the field of neuroscience, driven by a deep
interest to understand the human brain, the complexity of its functions, and its centrality to
human history. The program was developed by Fondazione Prada in collaboration with a
scientific board chaired by the neurologist Giancarlo Comi.
Coltello cerimoniale inca - tumi - XIII – XV secolo - fusione in bronzo
MARKK – Museum am Rothenbaum - Hamburg
MARKK – Museum am Rothenbaum - Hamburg
Udo Kittelmann
co-curator
The - Human Brains - initiative surveys different fields: from neurobiology to philosophy, from
psychology to neurochemistry, from linguistics to artificial intelligence, and robotics. Through
a convergence of diverse scientific approaches, the human brain was examined in the
plural—as expressed by the title—to underline its intrinsic complexity and the irreducible
singularity of each individual.
Plinio il Vecchio - Naturalis Historia - Johannes de Spira - Venezia - 1469
testo originale 77 – 78 ca. - Inc. V. 106, incunabolo miniato con foglia d’oro
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venezia
Huangdi Neijing - Testo classico di medicina interna dell’Imperatore Giallo
Cina - XIX secolo - testo originale III secolo a.C.– III secolo d.C. ca.
Libro a stampa - Collezione privata
Opticae thesaurus. Alhazeni Arabis libri septem, nunc primùm editi. Eiusdem liber De crepusculis & nubium ascensionibus.
Item Vitellonis Thuringolopoli libri 10
Raccolta di testi di ottica fra cui la prima edizione del settimo libro e il De crepusculis & nubium ascensionibus dell’autore arabo Alhazen oltre al decimo libro di Witelo]
Eusebius Episcopius & haeredes Nicolai Episcopii - Basel - 1572
testi originali X – XIII secolo ca. -Libro a stampa 2 copie
Biblioteca Statale di Cremona, Cremona
“This
project aims to shed light on science, on its extreme complexity,
on how the evolution of
knowledge requires a continuous verification process and how each new acquisition is the
premise for the next in a never-ending development.
Knowing how our brain works helps us
understand ourselves and others.
It allows us to participate in a more incisive way in social
life,
to respect and appreciate the diversity between people and thought.
This project also
intends to recognize the immense contribution of the neuroscientific community with special
attention given to young researchers who, with their creativity, provide a fundamental
contribution to the advances of neurosciences.”
Giancarlo Comi
President Scientific Board
On the first and second floors, more than 110 items encode centuries of attempts to
understand the human brain. Including historical objects, drawings, paintings, prints, and
books, the items mark some of the most significant stages of a millennia-long journey of
discovery while also illuminating otherwise forgotten chapters of the Mesopotamian and
ancient Egyptian ages, the Italian Renaissance, the Japanese Edo period, as well as the last
thirty years’ imaging techniques.
Cilindri di Gudea - Iraq- 2120 – 2110 a.C. ca. - terracotta
Musee du Louvre, Département des Antiquitees Orientales - Paris - copia espositiva
Hieronymus Bosch - L’estrazione della pietra della follia -
1501 – 1505 ca.
olio su tavola di quercia
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Copia espositiva
Shiva Nataraja - India - XVIII secolo - bronzo
Giordano Bruno - De umbris idearum - Le ombre delle idee
Gilles Gourbin, Paris, 1582 - Libri a stampa, 3 copie
A.V.Tav.I.F.I.414/1, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna - B.16.b.60,
Gilles Gourbin, Paris, 1582 - Libri a stampa, 3 copie
A.V.Tav.I.F.I.414/1, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria di Bologna, Bologna - B.16.b.60,
Biblioteca Universitaria di Padova (MiC), Padova71 C 201.1
Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venezia
Lucio Bini – Ugo CerlettiMacchina per la terapia elettroconvulsivanteItalia
1938 – 1940 - metallo
Musei Civici di Reggio Emilia – Museo di Storia della Psichiatria - Reggio Emilia
Musei Civici di Reggio Emilia – Museo di Storia della Psichiatria - Reggio Emilia
Negli Incubi Comminciano Le Possibilita - Mckenzie Wark
narrato - George Guidall
Video diretto da Taryn Simon e prodotto da Fondazione Prada
per il progetto Human Brains: It Begins with an Idea
Hans Berger - Das Elektrenkephalogramm des Menschen
Nova Acta Leopoldina, serie 6 - n. 38
Leopoldina Nationale Akademie der Wisseschaften - Halle - Saale - 1938
Deutsches Epilepsiemuseum, Kork
Deutsches Epilepsiemuseum, Kork
Seii Sugawara - Fujin Zōzu - Giappone - 1774
Rotolo con illustrazioni Nihonga
Library of Health Sciences - Inohana Library - Chiba University -Chiba
Rotolo con illustrazioni Nihonga
Library of Health Sciences - Inohana Library - Chiba University -Chiba
copia espositiva
The Conversation Machine - Video - interviste e orchestrazione di Taryn Simon
Prodotto da Fondazione Prada per il progetto - Human Brains: It Begins with an Idea
Taryn Simon
co-curator
Kanzen Mikumo – Genshun Koishi – Ranshū Yoshimura
Seyakuin Kainantaizōzu - Tavola anatomica maschil e di Seyakuin
Seyakuin Kainantaizōzu - Tavola anatomica maschil e di Seyakuin
Giappone - 1798 - manoscritto illustrato, inchiostro e colore su carta
Copia espositiva
Copia espositiva
Mobile da frenologia - XIX secolo
legno - feltro - metallo - mobile - gesso e colla - teste
The Anatomical Museum, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
On the ground floor, a series of projections introduces the audience to the anatomy,
physiology, and imaging of the brain, as well as illustrations of how it develops and
functions. This in turn presents visitors with the principles, structure, and mystery of the
organ at the center of the exhibition.
