Blog #1: The Intersections of Art + Science

On the first day of class when we were asked to write characteristics of art, science, and how they are similar, I found it much easier to come up with individual qualities rather than similarities. The first crossovers that I thought of were in regards to processes, such as the chemical reactions that happen when developing film photography, or using technology to create digital mediums. However as we started to discuss our ideas and learn about various practicing artists, it was clear that art and science have more in common than I initially thought.

To me, the most successful aspect of the intersection of art and science is that they are both experimental processes that (eventually) yield the desired result. Before our discussions and readings from last week, I related the term experiment more closely with science, but after seeing the work of Fabian Oefner in class my perspective shifted. His work specifically stood out to me as an example of experimental work because he has to repeat and practice his process to get even a few final photographs. I appreciated his work because he had a very thought out way of creating but ultimately had to let go of a certain degree of control. Besides the experimental aspect of Oefner’s photographs, he explores the ideas of sound and uses knowledge of technology to create machines that trigger the camera.
Fabian Oefner. Dancing Colors, 2013.
Fabian Oefner. Dancing Colors, 2013.

A historical artist that I consider to use science with art is Johannes Vermeer. While Vermeer may not be the first person that comes to mind at the mention of science, I am thinking about how he most likely used a sort of camera obscura to create his compositions. Although there isn’t an official record of its use, the perspectives in his paintings are spot on with no apparent underdrawings or corrections, which is nearly impossible to achieve. I consider the use of the camera obscura to create a painting an intersection of art and science because it uses physics to bend light and project an image into a space (shown in the diagram below).


The painting below shows Vermeer’s potential use of the camera obscura to create perspective by painting the man in front much larger than the woman across from him, which was not generally understood at the time of its creation.
Johannes Vermeer. Officer and Laughing Girl, 1655–60.

A more contemporary example of an artist who uses science in their practice is Luke Jerram. While many of his works revolve around the intersection of the two disciplines, I was especially drawn to his Glass Microbiology project. The work was “made to contemplate the global impact of each disease, the artworks are created as alternative representations of viruses to the artificially coloured imagery received through the media” (Jerram). Jerram also partners with various scientific labs, such as Wellcome Trust and the Pirbright Institute, to develop microbes for his work. His colorless, glass sculptures give both scientists and the general public an insight into the viruses that affect our bodies.

Lactobacillus_art
Luke Jerram. Lactobacillus.
Ev71
Luke Jerram. Ev71- Hand Foot and Mouth Disease.

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