Abigail Sefton
Science and art belong together. Actually I think it is crucial that they interact with each other. Two things that are often seen as polar opposites combine to show the world a whole new way to view the events that occur inside of them and around them everyday. Science evolves every day and art is a way to show that and bring comfort to people during these changes. Each part of this exhibit evaluates different instances where art and science became one.
All of these pieces are by the artist Klari Reis. This art uses biological organisms in order to show beautiful forms of science. The artist was diagnosed with Chrons disease in her early 20s which led to the inspiration of finding a way to bring attention to scientific wonders. This work explores the different natural and unnatural processes of science and the beauty behind them. Each of these pieces uses bacteria of some sort to make the piece. Some of the pieces explore scientific concepts and processes and show them in a fun and inspiring way. This allows science to be born in a new way and to be expressed in a way that is easier to percieve. These pieces inspire the people looking at them to see that science is not black and white and set in stone, but rather ever changing and that the future of science is bright.
"Art and science have so much in common - the process of trial and error, finding something new and innovative, and to experiment and succeed in a breakthrough. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." - Albert Einstein
These pieces by Stelarc are adaptations of new biotechnology that is created. He created these pieces in order to show that when science is combined with art new things that were never even considered before can be created. This shows the benefit to adding a creative side to science and how many things can be created when people dare to push past the boundaries. Some of Stelarcs work was viewed as unnecessary or dangerous, but he did that on purpose in order to show that there is truly no boundary in art and science. Each one is ever changing and evolving. These pieces show new scientific technology that was created throught he creative processes used in art. These pieces are also showcased as art work versus marketed as scientific tools. This is because Stelarc makes them not as scientific tools but as a way to show the world that anything is possible when you explore the unknown and the thought of what was impossible. However some of these pieces are unsafe for use since they were made to be art rather than sterile and functional enough for science.
"Art and science are not separate realms, but rather they are intertwined, feeding off one another" -Alan Lightman
This piece was made from Agar bacteria which grows on solid food then is transferred over to a petri dish in order to grow into a beautiful scene like the one here. This shows great detail of each pattern on the Spotted Eagle Ray, and shows the different organisms typically found around it. The use of Agar in art requires great detail and time.
This piece was also made from bacteria and required great detail in order to shape the scales on the Koi fish perfectly. This required small amounts of bacteria to be used and shaped into just the right shape. This also allowed for the flower to have great detail by using small strokes of the bacteria. The vibrant colors were created by mixing colors into the bacteria using charcoal or other substances. This allows the viewer to see that bacteria takes form in many different ways and that it is also located in things like aquatic micro-biomes.
This piece had to be carefully created due to the bacteria possibly causing harm to humans and could possibly cause pneumonia if not careful. This piece however shows a beautiful landscape and showcases a beautiful scene across a desert while being made out of harmful bacteria. It shows how good things can blossom from bad beginnings.
This piece was made from Agar bacteria that was grown in a lab, but the background had charcoal mixed into it in order to form the background color into the one desired. This piece uses multiple different art techniques in to incorporate the bacteria into an intricate pattern. This pieces patterns were inspired from the patterns on lace and pottery in the artists home country.
This piece was made using careful growth of bacteria in order to get each stroke just right. This piece has many different details and order to get each one right there had to be individual strokes of bacteria made in order to properly make the piece. This piece was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's sunflower piece. This piece was made completely from wash room bacteria. The bacteria was collected from all different surfaces in the washroom then placed on the petri dish to grow in careful pattern.
This piece showcases the war between winter and spring and the differences between the two seasons. The spring side is full of color and bright like spring is, but the winter side is devoid of color and shows the bleakness of winter. This also showcases the emotional response to each season, spring is full of warm feelings and the winter is full of sadness and a feeling of emptiness. The colors used on the spring side show how spring is not only vibrant but also a time of growth, and the winter side shows how this is a period of die off for ecological systems. This also applies to the bacteria used to make this since bacteria grows best in warm enviroments and does not survive well in the cold.
"Science relies on art to ask the right questions, and art relies on science to find the answers" -Danielle Ofri
All of these pieces were created by Dr. Santiago Roman y Cajal. He was one of the founders in the discovery of the parts and components of the human brain. In order to showcase his dicscoveries he would turn them into art in the form of detailed drawings. This allowed him to explain in greater detail his findings and how it changed what scientists once knew. The use of art allowed more people to understand what he found and how it would grow to be important in the fundamentals of science. Scientific findings are often a hard thing to grasp and often are intricate, however this allowed his work to be documented as well explained from a simpler view. These drawings allowed the rest of the scientific world to build off of his findings in the coming future.
"Science can teach us, but only art can inspire us"- Keanu Reeves
These pieces were made by Nicola Fawcett and Chris Wood in order to show how medical microbiology and the impact that it has. These pieces were made to show awarness towards the bacteria that grows in peoples guts due to antibiotic resistance. This was meant to show that a healthy and beautiful world is one devoid of bacteria, but that is not possible so beauty must be made out of the bacteria.