Workshop for curators on how to manage shows on Science art

 

“Who are we and where do we want to go?” Neurobiologist Gerald Hüther recently raised these seemingly simple questions and stated: “The motivation to answer this is the existential link between science and art. And it is becoming more and more relevant for us, and for our lives.” Both questions are indeed existential. For both fields. They go beyond the fact that art has always been influenced by the achievements of science: Leonardo’s anatomic sketches and models of flying objects and Rembrandt’s oil painting “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” (1632) portraying a dissection are but two famous examples of artists’ fascination with science.  The illustrations of landmark works in biology such as Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” (1859) and Ernst Haeckel’s “Art Forms of Nature” (1899-1904) have influenced generations of artists and, through the artists’ work, our perception of art, science and, not least, the world and what it is about. When we look at pieces of art such as the “daily arithmetic” works by Hanne Darboven, Carsten Höller’s installations, or the interactive net part of Ai Wei Wei’s “Sunflower Seeds”, 2010-, we experience intense synergies of aesthetic approaches and scientific innovations (and their critique). They show us new ways to see the world and leave their mark on us, sometimes disturbing, sometimes moving, sometimes…

Within the dynamics of the relation of art and science, their being intertwined (since the question is also: does art influence science?), the role of the curator has changed dramatically in the past decades. With the ever-growing amount of production and information, the curator has become more and more a cultural worker who truly “curates”: selecting, focusing on key themes and topics, relating art works to cultural, social, political, economic and scientific disciplines, and arranging and disseminating them. These are all critical aspects of this special kind of “caretaking” that will be focused upon in theory and practice in the framework of SYNAPSE, its website and workshop.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
SYNAPSE
The International Curators' Network at Haus der Kulturen der (September 6–17 2011)
SYNAPSE will focus on the interactions between science and art. Among other questions, it will address how scientific topics can be approached by curators.
Up-and-coming curators are encouraged to apply.
Submissions due: 31 May 2011
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