Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication

ART AND SCIENCE - Why people find Science more appealing than Art

Scientists tell very interesting stories - like "Big Bang" origin of the universe, why the universe is expanding , what can happen to it in the future, how a human brain works, how we - the human beings - have evolved as the most intelligent forms of life - some with proof and some without it! News papers report them with dedication. Day in and day out the media sings the songs of science's glory. Both children and adults get fascinated by them.

But all this is making some people in the art world uncomfortable and they are complaining! No, I am not kidding. Go read the book Art and Science by Sian Ede which has lots of complaints. These people complain that Science is being given more importance - with the media letting it occupy the first pages leaving the last pages to fine art ( Can they say the same about movies and movie and rock stars?!). They also say people are much more likely to be seriously persuaded, moved, worried and enchanted by science than by art! It seems parents are encouraging their children to pursue science subjects rather than art.

Well, well, well, my dear artist friends, don't get disheartened, my vote goes to both art and science and I advice everybody to follow both the subjects.

But have you ever thought why this is happening if this is really happening? I feel science's appeal lies in its exciting and mind blowing experiences! And the reassurance it gives the worried minds! It not only reports about a happening, but also explains why it happens only in that way and not in any other way, why it is irrelevant, relevant or helpful in our lives. It also shows how we can exploit the situation to benefit us. For instance if a plane gets caught in turbulence and crashes, scientists explain why such accidents happen, what factors influence them, how to avoid such situations in the future, how new technologies can be tried to help solve the problems. That is science for you. It tries to soothe your jumpy nerves! All that art can do in such a scenario is paint a picture of it - which can be gruesome in some cases. If you try to calm down a little bit by looking at a beautiful art piece, yes, it can work as a booster dose. During one of those trying times Georges Braque, one of the famous artists of Cubism era, said: 'Art upsets, Science reassures' ! I won't go that far and denigrate art but would say art makes you think with your heart (emotional part of the brain) but science not only makes you think with your brain (reasoning part of it) but act in a rational way!

Yes, art can take to a world of wonderland of imagination and make you temporarily excited about it and forget your worries. But if you want to solve your problems permanently, science is the only solution! However, some people will be put off by science because it is a complex subject unlike art - but if you understand it, there is nothing like science that excites you and thrills you to the core!

The basic human nature dictates that if people think something can help them, they will instantly and definitely accept it. If they think something will not have a direct and immediate benefit, they show lukewarm response. If they think something harms them, they will reject it.

Science bridges this gap between happenings in our lives and their origins and consequences so beautifully that people get assurance and comfort from the knowledge.

If you go somewhere no one has ever gone before, if you discover or invent something new, it is the most exciting thing that can happen to any human mind. Nothing can compare to the thrill it brings. People can instantly identify it and realize that only the most courageous with a dash of intelligence can do such things.

When a beautiful art work is created - no doubt it can make people happy with its visual appeal and can bring satisfaction to the artist - but it does not give the thrill that is associated with science and the confidence and trust the knowledge brings. Can an artist ever feel what Neil Armstrong felt when he first landed on the moon? Can s/he ever feel what Watson and Crick felt when they first discovered the DNA structure? Can an artist or art work assure you about improving your health condition like a doctor does? As a person who has experienced firsthand all that several worlds could offer - I can say these words with all the confidence truth can carry!

So artists, stop complaining about science. Let us concentrate on how science and art can help each other for their mutual benefit.

( A Mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions - Oliver Wendel Holmes Jr.)

Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa

1 member likes this

Comment

You need to be a member of SCI-ART LAB to add comments!

Join SCI-ART LAB

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 8, 2013 at 6:56am: 605

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 25, 2012 at 11:22am: Human beings seek explanations for the world’s workings; we have been searching for answers to limitless questions for thousands of years. One of the primary means of explanation has been the sciences. It provides humans with effective ways to rationalize the world. Since humans long for simplicity over complexity, they will naturally be more attracted to concrete answers rather than abstract ideas. This is where the arts meet difficulties in mainstream acceptance. While science gives facts, evidence, laws, and theorems, laid out and accepted by the majority, art presents us with abstract ideas and interpretation. Even the most straightforward of paintings may be interpreted in different ways. - Angelina Fuller

http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/weinroth2009/2009/12/14/is-sci...

Comment by giulia occorsio on January 5, 2012 at 12:16pm: I am very sorry Krishna for a lots of complaints about that site and its creator, but I think as Saint Thomas:

to test to trust!

Best regards, Giulia

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 5, 2012 at 8:05am: Giulia, I am also a member of World Art Foundation. But I have received and read lots of complaints about the site and its creator in the past one year. So I stopped visiting the site.

Marcel, thank you for the interesting Quote.

Comment by Marcel Charest on January 4, 2012 at 6:11pm: About working art and science together. Somebody said: "I am human, and everything that is human interests me."

Comment by giulia occorsio on January 4, 2012 at 1:11pm: Dear Krishna if do you like, you can enter on the web site WORLD ART FOUNDATION where the eclectic Jojo Marengo has just few hours ago created "HOLISTIC HEALING/THE BRIDGE (do you know Marengo?).

I believe to one way for healing: TO HAVE TIME TO DO THAT WE LOVE!

Kiss,

Julia

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 4, 2012 at 6:17am: More and more universities around he world are combining art with science because they realize that is the best way to go. You can read the news about a Ph.D. in science-art here:

http://kkartlab.in/group/News/forum/topics/2816864:Topic:79721

Comment by Marcel Charest on January 3, 2012 at 5:57pm: I had a friend painter who died from cancer last summer. He was an Egyptian who came to live in Quebec many years ago because he wanted to live in a French welcoming community. His parents were fortunate and gave him a european education. He had a degree in engeneering. When we got friend, I was surprised to learn that he had learned art in a technology institution. In Egypt, art was being taught by the Technology Department. In Quebec, he earned his living as an engeneer and worked for the government, sometimes even as a teacher. Before I met my Egyptian friend and Art Lab, I always had a tendancy to think that art and science don't go easily together. By the way, all the body of artwork of my Egyptian friend has a logical, mathematical approach; you can sense the engeneer under the artist. But, still, his artwork is artwork.

Comment by Marcel Charest on January 3, 2012 at 5:41pm: Leonardo Da Vinci is considered a universal genious; I guess he had a "degree" in everything for his time. Today, one can get a degree in one, sometimes two subjects, rarely three because each science has developped and specialised so much. Research is important in science and art. Scientists can easyly have a tendancy to specialise more and more as they go deeper and deeper and sometimes close their minds; artists can do that also and specialise in a genre. But I feel a true artist works hard to keep an open mind. Helas, art galleries often don't help very much.I guess, for everybody, it is hard to leave the cocoon...

Marcel Charest, ac

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on January 3, 2012 at 4:20pm: I got this translation for your reply , Guilia: I agree with you dear Dr. Krishna. art and science can coexist in a "mind" intelligent, but the results of a work of art, differ from the results of a scientific discovery. An artist can get a very different feel in contemplating his work, can 'also be considered dissatisfied and pursue other things, is not the same "wonder" that puts Armstrong on the moon before the boarding, and not even the satisfaction that captures Watson and When They Discovered the first Crick DNA structure. However, your post is very significant and I interpret it as an invitation to all artists, scientists and other "brains" not to be monogamous but trying to amalgamate all the possibilities, and not rational for humanity's progress.
Thank you very much. Yes, I want people to interact with others' fields and to not stay in their own cocoons and complain. Interaction is really a beautiful experience. And it is beneficial too. If you read the articles in the groups "research" and "science-art", you will realize how interesting that experience could be!