ART
AND SCIENCE
to the memory of Rene Rebetez
New
Visualities, Architecture,
Science in New Art, Art and Science in History and Cultures, Medicine
and Art, Artificial Intelligence, Art and Technology
SANART
4th International Symposium and Art Events
1-3 June 2000
METU
Cultural and Convention Center, Ankara
Concept
for 'Art and Science'
One of the explicitly
stated problems of our times seems to be the separation of art and
science. In fact, one of the most severe accusations of the 'enlightenment'
is the development of a binary system of evaluation, where scientific
and aesthetic values are divorced from each other.
As we approach
the end of the century boundaries between art and science or between
the body and the mind may no longer be as sharp as before. Yet,
it is quite evident that aesthetic or artistic concerns are not
treated with equal value as those that are deemed to be scientific
and rational, or as those which can be empirically proven and quantitatively
calculated.
Many philosophers,
such as Foucault, Baudrillard, Althusser or Deleuze have complained
about the resulting condition of culture, showing how irrational,
in fact, this rationalism is. Michel Henry has called the resulting
culture of this preference for the technical as 'La Barbarie'.
On the other
hand, a close scrutiny of innovations and creative work proves that
only the combined scientific and artistic sensibilities can produce
valuable results. Einstein had stated, in a letter before his death,
that 'Discovery is not the work of logical thought, even when the
resulting product is related to a logical system.' One can cite
many great thinkers who thought likewise. In both science and art
the common denominator at the base of innovation and creativity
is intuition. The scientist approaches the artist when he can go
beyond the boundaries of the empirical to the intuitive. If innovation
in science is also a work of genius and originality, the work of
art, on the other hand, is also a product of profound thought and
knowledge. Of course, in the arts knowledge and thought are not
articulated the same way as they are in the scientific and technical
realms. It is revealing that the word for art in ancient Greek was
Tekne. One of the most interesting periods in western culture, to
show the importance of the relation of art and science, is the renaissance
where science was in the service of the arts, because truth was
believed to be in the artistic realm.
We have become
aware that since Aristotle nature has become an abstraction and
therefore we have lost our empathic relation to it. A way to create
a healthy relation to nature, which is imperative today, is through
an aesthetic approach. Therefore, one of the present day issues
where the integration of art and science is searched is the study
of nature. There are other fields like medicine and psychology or
urban planning, architecture, and industrial design where the necessity
for both qualitative and quantitative approaches are evident. It
is obvious that for the last few centuries, the priority given to
the quantitative in the field of architecture, planning and design,
has not created the best environments.
For the arts,
the use of scientific knowledge or of technology never needed any
justification. Today, the great practical advantages and mediatic
possibilities created by high technology has given the arts new
impetus and have opened new horizons. There are many artists working
directly in the field of high technology. This means that new types
of arts, which are highly technological in method have been developing
and will continue to develop. Of course the first that come to mind
are photography and cinematography. But today we have many new additions
to the list of video arts, such as different possibilities within
computer art.
Less obvious
are the new areas of concern and subject matter from the realm of
science and technology which are interesting artists. One can cite
ecological art where knowledge about biology or zoology, or social
art where social research may be necessary. There are also artists
who work with material produced through scientific investigations,
such as radiology or with results of research such as in the fields
of geology, geography, medicine, etc.
On the other
hand, there are many discoveries in the scientific arena which have
brought to our attention facts which are worthy of being called
art works. All new knowledge about nature and about the earth and
heavens show us the aesthetic treasure of the world. From this point
of view what many scientists have to show us today are not less
marvelous and inspiring than art works.
The year 2000
will be a most appropriate time for artists and scientists to come
together to work and to define common questions and common interests.
Such an opportunity will be a natural celebration for 2000.
Download
Symposium Concept Paper in PDF : English
version, Turkish version
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Association of Aesthethics and Visual Culture © 2002
