About Art & Science - Act I

Act I : A complex relationship

Although society has traditionally viewed art and science as two antinomic worlds, they intimately connect together in a complex yet beautiful way. In fact, art and science have always overlapped, and this intricate relationship can be recovered since the dawn of humanity. From parietal art and Leonardo Da Vinci to the Lumières movement and the latest modern exhibitions, art has been commonly used as a medium to express scientific concepts that were and still are too complex for humans to fully understand.

The conservative opposition between art and science lies in the fact that one is subjective, and stems from the human mind to express personal and stylized ideals, values, esthetics, emotions and ideas through some particular means; while the other one is based on the discovery and organization of objective truths destined to rule our entire universe in an incredibly methodological and impersonal way.

However, art and science share many similarities despite having fundamentally different essences. For example, both begin with an empirical creative approach conducted by one or more individuals, aimed to convey an idea, a vision, or a set objective – that surely does not share the same purpose, but basically follow a similar thought process. Like a painter experimenting with his color palette, mixing shades to get new ones, erasing, starting again, the researcher discovers a new ingredient, mechanism of action or formulation by constant trial and error.

Artists can draw from science and its concepts to freely express their art, and even explore (and create) new artistic fields thanks to it. Science becomes an inspiration, a whole part of the creative process; it is almost a full-fledged “tool” used to design new artworks. Ultimately, art has the power to use the naturally undisputable to create something individually debatable, that people can construe and explore in their own way.

On the other hand, scientists are often guided by esthetic aspects in their research, and almost act as artists themselves. Moreover, as new scientific disciplines become increasingly abstract and invisible to the human eye – like microbiology, genomics, molecular chemistry, etc. –, artistic visualizations of sciences have become more and more common in this day and age.

Our mini-series of articles aims to showcase examples of fields where art and science meet and collaborate in an intimate and truly fascinating way: let’s focus first on the captivating case of data paintings, pioneered by the artist?Refik Anadol.

Data, statistics, and artificial intelligence have become new media for artists to exploit; by using cutting-edge technologies and computer science, Anadol is able to create 3D sculptures and paintings, audio and visual performances, and immersive installations where the once invisible data takes shape, becomes tangible and brightly colored.

Anadol’s goal? To address the challenges – and possibilities – of what it means to be human in an era where technology and computers have invaded our lives.

The result: dreamy alternate realities embodied by dynamic environments, where the audience’s perception of time and space constantly changes thanks to machine intelligence, in a charming and aesthetically pleasing way.

Do you wish to see more projects and areas where art and science connect in a mesmerizing manner? Don’t miss out in 2 weeks our second article of our mini-series “About Art & Science” to discover intriguing topics that flawlessly mix and match them!