Cajal Portfolios

Explore the Dawn Hunter Art® Exhibition at the John Porter Neuroscience Research Center, National Institutes of Health. The showcase features an intricate fusion of art and science, with Dawn Hunter's inspired artwork about Santiago Ramón y Cajal displayed in harmony with the renowned neuroscientist's original scientific drawings, on loan from the Instituto Cajal. Browse through a curated selection of Dawn Hunter's pieces currently on exhibit.

Experience a deeply personal journey through the life and work of the legendary neuroscientist, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, with Dawn Hunter's unique perspective. Explore the human side of Cajal, communicated through his drawings, writings, and teachings, made tangible in Hunter's own artistic exploration. Her intimate project retraces Cajal's footsteps, capturing historical environments from his past and preserving them in her artwork, fostering a bridge between past and present. This exploration is a testament to Cajal's enduring influence on art, science, and personal inspiration.

Experience the richly layered 'Cajal Inventory', a collection of Dawn Hunter's biographical drawings and paintings, honoring the life and discoveries of Santiago Ramón y Cajal. The series, comprised of forty-five 11" x 14" works, combines art, history, and neuroscience, and utilizes a variety of materials including graphite, ink, pen, marker, and acrylic. These pieces not only highlight the famed neuroscientist's scientific illustrations and domestic scenes, but also illuminate aspects of his personal life and unique humor. Hunter recreates some of Cajal's lost childhood drawings, includes reflections on her own creative process, and focuses on the complementarity of Cajal's marriage which, she believes, catalyzed his scientific achievements. Each work thus serves as an educational tool and a celebration of Cajal's profound legacy.

Dawn Hunter's Cajal portfolio, crafted entirely with markers and pen sans preliminary pencil sketches, reflects a unique methodology developed during her Fulbright España Senior Research Fellowship at the Instituto Cajal, Madrid. After closely studying Cajal's own illustrations, she discerned his likely practice of direct ink drawing - a process both pragmatically efficient and philosophically truthful to neuron realism. Hunter's own work, free from erasures and corrections, emulates this approach, offering a testament to the form and content of her project, and illuminating the process of a pioneer in neuroscience.

"Snap" into the fascinating intersection of art, science, and self-representation in Dawn Hunter's exploration of Santiago Ramón y Cajal's photographic legacy. Unlike simple self-portraits, Cajal's images, created with his own photographic plate recipe, can be seen as early 'selfies', reflecting a consistent, self-directed narrative. As a Fulbright España Senior Research Scholar at the Instituto Cajal, Hunter investigated the 'Cajal persona' as captured in these images, uncovering the emotional and symbolic nuances of the man behind the scientist. This page offers a glimpse into those explorations.

Dawn Hunter's exploration of Santiago Ramón y Cajal's life began with the crafting of a unique, homemade accordion sketchbook. Inspired by Cajal's biography, she realized her role as an artist could help bring his story to life in a new and meaningful way. Over the past seven years, this project has grown and evolved. This page showcases the initial inspiration and recurring themes drawn directly from Cajal's life, interests, and work, as captured in Hunter's inventive sketchbook.