Science is Art: Beyond Pretty Pictures
Art comes in various forms. Fundamentally, it evokes emotion, penetrates being. A ballet step, poem stanza, song key, paint stroke, or marble chisel. These pieces unite to form a work that connects us to our human part. Abstract paintings do an exceptional job at evoking emotion and thought. Like science, you either get it or you don’t; you either love it or you don’t. Now that scientists are using Science is Art more commonly, it is essential to address the difference between a creative body of work and an Etch-A-Sketch illustration.
Art (n) the expression of human creative skill and imagination, producing works appreciated for their beauty or emotional power
Being too literal and predictable are characteristics of a quintessential academically-inclined scientist. Of course, dyes on tissue slices make beautiful pictures when processed correctly. But, pretty pictures from a microscope camera are not self-expression nor creativity. As scintillating as glow in the dark Light-Brite images are, they are not profound.
The Scientist:
Science can be a powerful tool to help humanity move in a positive direction. It is also quite powerless in that all it and its scientists do is chase after what already exists- life. The art lies in the deeper meaning of our existence, in the sub-microscopic being. Picasso and Klint didn't paint literal meanings of their subjects. Like some “artists”, some scientists do not have a deeper understanding or appreciation of the complexities of life, living beings and all that surrounds them. The work is consequently uninspiring to an obvious degree. Analysis of most of the half-ass research that are published in scientific journals reveals this problem.
bi·o·morph (n) a decorative form or object based on or resembling a living organism.
Figure 1: Mark Rothko felt the need to touch on human emotion by using Color Field. Untitled (1950-1953) at the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
The Artist:
Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko needed people to look beyond the colors in Color Field painting. Science as an art must strike emotion like the devastation of cell death on a living system. Have you ever seen the horror on aging people’s faces when they are told their biology is literally dying cell by cell? That is emotion; feeling something that connects the viewer to that piece of work. If that is unclear, then the point of art and science and their biomorphism is missed.
The Science:
Higher and lower level perceptions also collaborate in daily functions to achieve balance. The more creative a person is, the more their cerebral hemispheres work together without distinct control over one skill or cognitive ability. Actually, abstract artwork is not processed preferentially by either visual field of amateur artists or observers. That is because “the untrained eye” is usually looking for something familiar without considering the depths of the work like the medium choice. Ordinary scientists take a similar approach- follow the protocol, scan for the known, mark the anomaly. The funny part is that the right hemisphere controls trouble-shooting and symbolism. So, unimaginative scientists are only using half of half of their brain?
Figure 2: Head by Pablo Picasso (1913-1914) Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
Figure 3: Primordial Chaos by Hilma af Klint (1906-1907). Klint was the or one of the first known abstract artists in the West.
Bottom Line:
The art of science goes beyond optically pleasing pictures of paint-by-number cells. Similar to how simply painting on a canvas is not art. Pictures of stained cells and embroidered neurons are cute, but decide whether making costly fluorescent Etch-A-Sketches or serving the people with a deeper, longer-lasting science is a priority for public engagement? Science needs creativity to solve problems that cause suffering and waste. Some scientists are book smart while others have an innate ability to see beyond the encyclopedic norm. Usually, people who have felt deeply in life or are in awe of it think a banal microscope image is emotionally moving to the soul. Honestly, stop being boring.