Science and Contemporary Art (original) (raw)
Related papers
Artistic Research at the Edge of Science
Oxford Artistic Research Platform, 2017
What is the relationship between artistic research and other academic fields? Due to its proximity to bioengineering, bio-art is an especially telling case study for thinking about this issue. Here I outline ‘the problem of absorption’. An artistic practice (bio-art) attempts to incorporate methods of an academic field (bioengineering), but instead of securing critical distance, it becomes assimilated back into that field. I discuss how bio-artists have come to negotiate this problem, considering the work of pioneers such as Ionat Zurr and Oron Catts, as well as more recent work by Maja Smrekar.
With an expanding knowledge of materials, their construction and properties, science would have sat comfortably amongst the progression of the visual arts throughout the 19th century - with cultural classes coequally as likely to attend a scientific lecture on the latest endeavour, just as they were on a work of art and its exploration. However, with the onset of modern times, this integration has become somewhat fragmented , showing an increased facilitation for specialisation; resulting it to be near impossible to study each subject simultaneously. In turn, we can suggest an acceptance not to understand something of importance due to its ‘scientific’ nature, but stylish to feign an understanding of the arts. Challenges have presented this newfound segregation, the most substantial being the emergence of a cultural divide. We are seeing a fading interest in the arts attention to this now considered ‘high culture’, an insight into a society preoccupied with scientific skill, which is somewhat a differencing relation of expression seen in art, drama and music. Using a collection of research from art philosophers as well as scientific researchers, with information sourced from CERN’s archives, this essay will discuss the cultural differences presented before us. Firstly exploring the role to what each institution provides within their respected field, to a progression onto how and by what means this is being accomplished to bridge this gap; with conclusions drawn to the obstacles faced by artists trying the overcome and unite this divide.
“Art, Science and Technology in an Expanded Field”
Leonardo, 1993
The author suggests that new concepts in twentieth-century science not only provide commonalities between the arts, sciences and humanities, they also point to the emergence of a new philosophy of nature with some promising political, sociological and technological implications. These developments demand a thorough-going ethical practise and a fundamental reformulation of accepted notions of creativity, consciousness and natural and social organization. Outlining key concepts and discoveries in twentieth-century science and philosophy, the author draws attention to the existence of a strong organismic or process tradition in Western culture that is re-emerging in various fields of the physical, biological and social sciences. The author asserts that such a change in science and technology will have global ramifications for humans and that it is the amplification of these insights to which artists should turn their attention.
The Scientific Imaginary in Visual Culture: open access!
The Scientific Imaginary in Visual Culture: open access!, 2010
Popular media, art and science are intricately interlinked in contemporary visual culture. This book analyses the scientific imaginary that is the result of the profound effects of science upon the imagination, and conversely, of the imagination in and upon science. As scientific developments in genetics, information technology and cybernetics open up new possibilities of intervention in human lives, cultural theorists have explored the notion of the posthuman. The Scientific Imaginary in Visual Culture analyses figurations of the ›posthuman‹ in history and philosophy, as well as in its utopian and dystopian forms in art and popular culture. The authors thus address the blurring boundaries between art and science in diverse media like science fiction film, futurist art, video art and the new phenomenon of bio-art. In their evaluations of the scientific imaginary in visual culture, the authors engage critically with current scientific and technological concerns.
Science & Art Hand in Hand @ CVL
2008
In the Computer Vision Laboratory our work spans from basic scientific research to industrial projects, but our interest in wider impact of such technology on society and the interest in contemporary art, brought our attention also to the applicative field of use of computer vision methods in art. And art is definitely a perfect testbed for our research. The talk will walk us through a few projects, proving the complementary nature of science and art from our perspective: 15 Seconds of Fame, Virtual Skiing, Dynamic Anamorphosis, Virtual Dancer, Smart Wall and Virtual painter, from face detection, motion following, depth recovery, touchless human computer interaction to pop-art, constant eye gaze of a person on the portrait, regardless of where the spectator stands, immersion into different virtual worlds without the need for any special equipment.
Art in the Age of Technoscience. Genetic Engineering, Robotics, and Artificial Life in Contemporary Art, 2009
Is science the new art? Taking this provocative question as her starting point, art historian Ingeborg Reichle examines the fascinating responses of contemporary artists when confronted with recent scientific and technological advances. In the last two decades a growing number of artists has left the traditional art venues to work in scientific environments like the laboratories of molecular biology, robotics, and artificial life. From this new art forms like „Transgenic Art“ and „Bio Art“ have emerged. These art forms differ dramatically from traditional artistic approaches that explore life: they have crossed the boundaries between the artificial and the natural, and thus provoke passionate debates about the growing influence of science and technology. This first comprehensive survey presents an informative selection of significant artworks in 294 color illustrations and provides a broad overview of this new and relevant development in art. Artists like Suzanne Anker, Brandon Ballengée, Louis Bec, Guy Ben-Ary, Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr, Catherine Chalmers, the Chapman Brothers, Jaq Chartier, Peta Clancy, Kevin Clarke, Critical Art Ensemble, Joe Davis, Marcel Duchamp, George Gessert, Peter Gerwin Hoffmann, Eduardo Kac, David Kremers, Steve Kurtz, William Latham, Edgar Lissel, Kazimir Malevich, Reiner Maria Matysik, Jon McCormack, Niki Nickl, Steve Miller, Simon Penny, Patricia Piccinini, Jane Prophet, Marc Quinn, Oliver Ressler, Ken Rinaldo, Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, Gary Schneider, Karl Sims, Pam Skelton, Nell Tenhaaf, Herwig Turk, K. D. Thornton, Stephen Todd, Gail Wight, Adam Zaretsky and many other artists are presented.
Visual Science of Art. Editorial: Bridging Art and the Sciences
Art & Perception, 2017
This special issue of Art & Perception for the first time comprises the abstracts of talks and posters presented at a Visual Science of Art Conference (VSAC). This year’s, 5th installment of VSAC took place in Berlin, August 25th-27th, with 117 contributions selected for presentation and more than 250 participants. This issue includes an editorial by Claus-Christian Carbon and Joerg Fingerhut that introduces the contributions and discussions at the conference. The abstracts of the keynotes presented by Jesse Prinz and Irving Biederman are then followed by those of the peer-reviewed presentations: talks/symposia (in order of presentation) and posters (in alphabetical order). The talks are clustered around central topics in the sciences of the arts, such as aesthetic universals vs. cross-cultural differences, some works are focusing on physiological measures in the aesthetic sciences, or on visual statistics of art images, others address the important issue of ecological valid testing of aesthetic experiences. The contributions to this year’s VSAC demonstrated a clear broadening of topics at the intersection of the visual sciences and the arts. Many presentations went beyond the focus on immediate sensory responses to artworks and simple evaluative states in order to also discuss the typical richness and elaborative quality of art experience that psychologists, philosophers, art historians, sociologists, and others recognize as an intellectually engaged, historically situated, and culturally varied phenomenon. The reprint of these abstracts therefore also aims to represent a cross-section of current research and debates in the field.
Science & Art Hand in Hand @ CVL
2009
projects, but our interest in wider impact of such technology on society and the interest in contemporary art, brought our attention also to the applicative field of use of computer vision methods in art. And art is definitely a perfect testbed for our research. The talk will walk us through a few projects, proving the complementary nature