C. P Snow’s influential lecture “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution” has opened my eyes to the notion of two cultures and how they have been segregated. Although Snow’s original lecture referred to the two cultures being the humanities and science, now the discussion can certainly extend to all the arts.
I was rather determined to study chemistry and become a scientific researcher, so for a long time art was something that was often missing from my life and I came to accept the fact that it is okay for scientists to be ignorant of the arts. After coming to UCLA, I realized that I was mistaken in thinking art and science are separated. I learnt that people can excel in both: my life science professor Dr. Amy Fluitt put up a link to a website selling her artworks on CCLE.
 |
| My life science professor's webpage selling her artwork. http://www.artamyhelene.com/ |
Furthermore, although the UCLA campus was rather segregated into "north" and "south" campus for the arts and the sciences, I have seen many examples of science inspired artworks in the buildings that I worked in.
 |
| Artwork I pass by everyday on my way to the lab. @Neuroscience Research Building UCLA |
Art and science does not have to be kept far apart from each other, and we are slowly realizing the need to close the gaps and transform to a third culture. However, there are still some problems that needs addressing. As a science enthusiast, I can particularly relate to the problem of public’s illiteracy of science. It was pointed out by Steven Pinker: “it is perfectly acceptable to flaunt your ignorance of the sciences and still be taken seriously”. I feel that both cultures have to do their parts in changing the status quo in order to truly bring the two cultures closer.
In Victoria Vesna’s essay “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between”, she believed that the triangulated bridge between art, humanities and science can be stabilized by “artists utilizing new technologies, who are in active dialogue with both sides”. Artists would inevitably encounter more scientific ideas when employing new technologies and media to create art.
In John Brockton’s book “The Third Culture”, he thinks the key to the third culture is for scientists to communicate to the public directly and “redefine who and what we are” using science. Science could be presented in more diverse and artistic ways in order to convey ideas in a manner that could be more easily understood by the public. A good example would be a series of posters created by graphic designer Simon C Page for the International Year of Chemistry in 2011.
 |
| A series of posters that convey scientific ideas through aesthetically pleasing designs. http://www.davidairey.com/chemistry-posters/ |
I believe that science and art are not that different in their essence. Both fields are trying to communicate their ideas and by learning the methodology of the other field, they can do so more effectively. I am very glad that I joined this class and I am excited to learn more about the topic of art, science and technology from people with different backgrounds. At last, as a chemistry major, I would like to share to all of you the beauty of chemistry. Perhaps science itself is already a kind of art.
Sources:
Airey, David. "International Year of Chemistry — David Airey." David Airey. N.p., 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 24 June 2016. <http://www.davidairey.com/chemistry-posters/>.
"Beautiful Chemistry" Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 23 June. 2016
Graham-Rowe, Duncan. "John Brockman: Matchmaking with Science and Art." WIRED UK. N.p., 3 Feb. 2011. Web. 26 June 2016. <http://www.wired.co.uk/article/matchmaking-with-science-and-art>.
J. Brockman. The Third Culture. 1995. Print.
"SEEDMAGAZINE.COM Two Cultures Steven Pinker" Online video clip.YouTube. YouTube, 18 May. 2010. Web. 23 June. 2016.
"
Snow, C.P.. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge University Press,
1961. Digitized print. 20 June 2016.
Vesna, Victoria. "Toward A Third Culture: Being In Between". Leonardo, JSTOR. Web. 23 June
2016.
I can definitely sympathize with the idea that scientists feel like they are free to ignore art. I too initially wanted to be a researcher, but my interests have since changed. It's very easy to completely ignore other fields when you are absorbed in your own work.
ReplyDeleteI remember putting together a presentation for a mathematics event that I attended. For visual interest I had to create some illustrations, but it's not easy to think visually when the objects we are considering are so abstract and maybe even we've proven that these objects can't be embedded in 2d space.