Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Theme of Science

Science and art are not polar opposites of human pursuits but go hand in hand (like peanut butter and jelly or ice cream and cake). When I was starting out as a artist, I rejected the idea that science and art were so closely linked because I thought art was concerned with how things feel instead of what they are. Consider that in painting (not taking into account anatomy, optics, or chemistry) you express an emotion of canvas (let's say desire for ice cream and cake), you bring this emotion into reality using materials and thus they are subject to the physical laws of nature = science (otherwise, the painting would only exist in your mind). Art is about expanding your awareness of the interconnectedness of things.
Matthew Ritchie, The Four Forces (The Heavy Force), 2008
One artist who deals with the theme of science is Matthew Ritchie (who I've mentioned a few times before). His work The Four Forces (The Heavy Force) is a visual representation of astro-physics or universes.

One of the artists we talked about in class who deals with the theme of science is Suzanne Archer. Her series of MRI scans is really quite intriguing because not only is it a reference to biological science, but also to psychological science.

A few of the artists who have come speak to our class also dealt with science as a theme. Daniel Laskarin
and Paul Walde.
Aside from my bromance with Carl Sagan and penchant for science fiction table top games, I'm not sure if I'm interested in science as a theme for my work, however, you can't escape the physical laws of nature! :)

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