Thread: Questions - The meeting between art and science

Hello, I am a guy from Sweden who is on my last year in high school. This will be the first time I am posting on here on the science forum. Here in Sweden, we are meant to do a project on our last high school-year. So I have decided to write an essay about ”The meeting between art and science”. And I would really like your help on answering a few questions regarding this. Feel free to elaborate on your own subjective opinion, or to use objective facts. I realize that art is a very subjective subject so therefore it will be interesting to see what your view on the questions are. I would be very grateful if some of you could find the time to answer my issues and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask away. I will do my best to answer them! Thanks in advance!


What does a meeting between art and science mean?

What is art? (”regular art” – unlike scientific art)

How important is art to science?

How does scientific art differ from ”regular art”?

Why does one use art in science?

How has scientific art changed through the ages?

Fascinating subject. I'm sure you will be able to find a lot to say. A few comments of the top of my head:

Art can help to communicate science (e.g. Large Hadron Rap - YouTube or CultureLab: Caught between the moon and a jug of cheese puffs)

Art can also generate interest/enthusiasm for science - many scientists got interested by reading science fiction, for example.

Science can look like art: e.g. Gallery - Olympus BioScapes winners find art in microscopic life - Image 1 - New Scientist

And this picture from CERN looks like something from a SF movie! Short Sharp Science: Live blog: Higgs hunt results from CERN

Science often changes the way things are expressed in art and metaphor generally; for example, the universe or the human body/brain used to be talked about in mechanical terms, like clockwork. But now more often it is described in computational terms, hardware, software, etc. Now people are even using things like quantum mechanics or black holes as metaphors.

Both fields require imagination, creativity, discipline, hard work, knowing the tools and techniques of the trade, practice, etc. Science may be more constrained by "right" and "wrong" answers (it is intended to describe the real world and produce useful results). Both may push the boundaries of what is acceptable to the public ("modern art" vs "paradigm shift") but will be embraced after time.

I create science-art and wrote extensively on the subject. At present writing a book on it. Please visit my website to learn more about science-art.