Art + Science
kissing in the library no. 6. (2022). 3 x 4” mixed media.
Art needs science. Science needs art. There’s always a new scientific study being published — a rare disease or novel clean energy opportunities. There’s always art coming and going — your local art museum’s new exhibit or your best friend’s social media posts. Our world is constantly changing, and it consists of data and visualization.
How do you visualize evolution? How do you understand that sculpture in MoMA? How do we conceptualize our genome? How do you quantify the meaning of that Wyeth painting? How do we even think at all?
We listen and we create. Art and science incorporate both of these qualities. Gathering data requires us to observe; we must listen closely for fragments of information. Synthesizing data is a building process; we must create meaning from these fragments and generate a vehicle in which to share it. Art is exactly the same. We must listen to stories and to sources of inspiration — what moves us, what moves you, what moves life. And from these stories, we deliver meaning as well. We humans are great at absorbing information. Then molding it. Shaping it. We transform data into creation. We hear. We generate.
Art reminds science of humanity. Imagine a hypothetical genome chip. Imagine taking incomprehensibly long DNA and coding it into a small electronic plate. Now imagine this chip became your only identity. Imagine your worth, your personality, your future — everything — was dependent on this chip. Image you could modify the code and it would modify you. Imagine, in wanting to have a child, you first electronically coded its genome. Are these ethical things? How do we discuss them? How do we begin to find answers? Art is a catalyst for asking science’s biggest questions. And maybe for answering them too.
Our fast pace of life is built from data and visualizations. We need to understand and learn to use both creativity and analysis. This is our imperative for evolution, our desire to create beauty, and our quest to find the meaning of life. I am a child of two worlds — art + science. I am equal parts of each, just as I find art within science and science within art.
