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What’s same/different about Science and the Arts?

Science Online Vancouver sponsored an event discussing Science and Art at Science World on Mar. 12. 

As a fan of Leonardo da Vinci, I find this subject irresistible. Science World's diva of delight and curator of curiosity, Sandy Eix, introduced the group to the new exhibit Creativity in Motion. Creator Steve Gerberich has created an amazing series of moving marvels made of found pieces assembled in myriad ingenious and fun ways. I found it amazing how easily a coffee pot can be made to look like a face, and that is what I doodled while there.

Then about forty (?) of us — some artists, many scientists, some in between — assembled to discuss science and art (assuming this encompasses more than just visual arts).

An immediate answer to what's the difference between science and art might be something like science is objective and art is subjective, which can be strengths or weaknesses depending on your point of view. My eight-year-old daughter told me that in science "you have to discover something" but in art "you get to do what you want." But personality traits can influence your choice of scientific field and the way you approach a question. And aspects of artistic judgement can have biological foundations in the ways we are wired.

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Related to the objective/subjective division is the idea that science is about rational information and art is about irrational feelings. But certainly, a scientific discovery can be an exhilirating feeling and the response to a new understanding about the way the world works can be moving.  And art can change your perceptions about something and most scientific explanations have some kind of metaphor embedded in them. Famous physicist Richard Feynman has chafed a bit about the implication that a scientist cannot appreciate beauty. We can distinguish the arts and sciences as processes that grow from a sense of wonder, potentially available to each of us as human beings. Koestler in the Act of Creation saw arts and sciences on a continuum. Our group did not come to any conclusions but raised many questions, which I have enjoyed thinking about.

What do you think/feel about all this?

About the sticker

Survivors

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

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Egg BB

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

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Comet Crisp

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

T-Rex and Baby

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

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Buddy the T-Rex

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Geodessy

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Science Buddies

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Western Dinosaur

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Time-Travel T-Rex

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.