Art & Science
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Transcript of Art & Science
Art & Science
Art & Science
• Problem: connected or opposed?• C.P. Snow, The Two Cultures (1959)
• Lecture:1. Origins ideas about connection/opposition2. Actual relations Art/Science3. Our perspective as students of science
1. History terms“art” and “science”
Middle Ages:
• Art as science:e.g. medieval universities: seven liberal arts
• Art als skill:e.g. “mechanical arts”
1. History terms“art” and “science”
Renaissance:
• Artist-engineers:
Albrecht DürerGiambattista della PortaLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
1. History terms“art” and “science”
Early modern period (17th century):
• still merged in thesis Svetlana Alpers• criticism Alpers• vanitas in science
1. History terms“art” and “science”
Early modern period (17th century):
• still merged in thesis Svetlana Alpers• criticism Alpers• vanitas in science
1. History terms“art” and “science”
Romanticism (late 18th - 19th century)
• Origins opposition Art vs. Science:– Science destroys beauty, meaning, value– Art displays beauty, meaning, value
Thomas Campbell, ‘To the Rainbow’ (1820):
When Science from Creation’s faceEnchantment’s veil withdraws,What lovely visions yield their
placeTo cold material laws!
1. History terms“art” and “science”
1. History terms“art” and “science”
Romanticism (late 18th - 19th century)
• Raymond Williams, Culture and Society (1958)– terms (industry, culture, etc.)
change meaning– “art” becomes “fine art”
1. History terms“art” and “science”
Modernism (20th century)
• anti-romantic• avant-garde artists embrace science:
– Italian futurists– Russian constructivists
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Futuristist Manifesto (1909):
“We declare that the splendor of the world has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A racing automobile with its bonnet adorned with great tubes like serpents with explosive breath ... a roaring motor car which seems to run on machine-gun fire, is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace.”
1. History terms“art” and “science”
20th century to our time:
• Modernism + Romantic opposition• see e.g. C.P. Snow, The Two Cultures (1959)
1. History terms“art” and “science”
20th century to our time:
• All positions summed up in The Challenge of Our Time:– Arthur Koestler– J.D. Bernal– C.H. Waddington– Michael Polanyi
2. Actual relations Art/Science
• besides conceptions• also actual connections/cooperations artists
and scientists• in both directions
2. Actual relations Art/Science
science for art:
• as subject matter• as model• as source of knowledge• as inspiration
2. Actual relations Art/Science
science for art:
• as subject matter• as model• as source of knowledge• as inspiration
Jacques-Louis David, M. Lavoisier et son Épouse (1788)
2. Actual relations Art/Science
science for art:
• as subject matter• as model• as source of knowledge• as inspiration
Panamarenko
2. Actual relations Art/Science
science for art:
• as subject matter• as model• as source of knowledge• as inspiration
Claude Monet, Klaprozen bij Argenteuil (1873)
2. Actual relations Art/Science
science for art:
• as subject matter• as model• as source of knowledge• as inspiration
2. science & art
Ernst Haeckel, Kunstformen der Natur (1899-1904)
René Binet, Porte Monumentale, World Exposition, Paris (1900)
2. Actual relations Art/Science
art for science:
• for illustrations
Henry Thomas de la Beche, Duria Antiquor (1830)
2. Actual relations Art/Science
art for science:
• illustrations as ‘virtual witnessing’• potentially weak link – cf. Hevelius• transition to ‘mechanical objectivity’ (Daston
& Galison, Objectivity (2007))• gap art and science practices
3. Our perspective as students of science
• difference between ideal picture of science and actual practice
• practice:– no method but skills– no Logic of Scientific Discovery (Popper),
but Art of Scientific Discovery (Polanyi)
• no categoric difference
3. Our perspective as students of scienceart/science projects:
• NWO Co-ops: http://www.nwo.nl/nwohome.nsf/pages/NWOA_6VZCHZ
http://www.co-ops.nl/• MoonzooM:
http://www.co-ops.nl/site/co-ops/coops-agenda/item/88• Discovery07: http://www.picnicnetwork.org/page/7263/en
3. Our perspective as students of scienceart/science projects:
• NWO Co-ops: http://www.nwo.nl/nwohome.nsf/pages/NWOA_6VZCHZ
http://www.co-ops.nl/• MoonzooM:
http://www.co-ops.nl/site/co-ops/coops-agenda/item/88• Discovery07: http://www.picnicnetwork.org/page/7263/en
3. Our perspective as students of science
art/science projects - enthousiastic responses among:
• artist/technician
• museums• educators• popularisers