Of course, anyone who knows anything about either discipline can tell you that this idea is absurd. There is a rich body of literature from the ancient Greeks all the way through the Renaissance to today’s great thinkers that prove the two areas have always been linked, the one unable to exist without the other. The question is how did the millennia-long bond between science and art get artificially severed? 

There are multiple theories, most of which cite the Scientific Revolution as an origin point. At a time when scientists faced the legitimate threat of religious persecution and the codification of empirical proof was a fragile, nascent concept, it made sense to protect both the researcher and the research by prioritizing objectivity. 

But as time went on and science became a less dangerous occupation, the belief that the arts were a “distraction” from the more serious work of science seemed to bleed into the Western educational system. Like a small dog with its teeth in a juicy leg, it’s an attitude that has been uncharacteristically hard to shake off.  

Anyone who’s gone through the school system over the past century can personally attest to the persistence of this belief. Science and mathematics became core disciplines, while the arts are still viewed by many as a “frivolous” endeavour, often relegated to an elective by high school. 

This unnatural selection has done a great disservice to the world. How many artsy kids were discouraged from pursuing a natural interest in mathematics or physics because of these limiting beliefs? How many budding scientists were told they would have to park their love of painting in order to become a serious researcher? And what potential has the world lost as a result?

Collection correction

The ArtSci Salon, a collective run through the Fields Institute, is an attempt to correct this false dichotomy. Started in 2010, it’s a monthly gathering of artists, scientists, and art-sci-tech enthusiasts who meet to engage in critical discussions on topics at the intersection between the arts and science and who seek collaboration across disciplines to create research projects and inquiries.

The Salon puts on several talks and installations each year. Past events include The Mutant Project, a discussion about the controversial subject of gene editing and Kaleidoscopic Imaginations, an experimental live show inspired by computational complexity theory gatherings.

From September 8 - 12, the Salon will present Proximal Fields in the [Anti]disciplinary Topographies segment of Ars Electronica Gardens, a major digital art festival in Austria. The project is a multi-modal exhibition that explores the physical environment at multiple scales in concentric circles of proximity to the body. It was inspired by Edward Hall’s notation of intimate spaces in his “Proxemics” diagrams and the natural, human response to physical isolation during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

In honour of the project’s debut, we asked the Proximal Fields team to discuss their work, the urgency of drawing attention to the connection between arts and science, and why they believe it’s still a challenge to convince some practitioners on either side that there’s mathematics in every work of art.

[Interview below].

Congratulations on the show. Where did the idea for this project come from?

The installation at Fields is part of a long-term multi-part project exploring the world of invisible particles and microbes surrounding us. During previous instalments, Elaine Whittaker and Joel Ong invited a group of artists located internationally to collect microbial samples using Edward Hall’s 1961 “Proxemics” notations of intimate (1.5ft), personal (4ft), social (12ft) and public (25ft) spaces as main parameters for measurement. The samples were grown on petri dishes and later compared, resulting in the diverse collection you see in the mural at Fields. The current installation adds an AR (augmented reality) app to the visual composition: although the Fields Institute has remained closed to the public for many months, microbes and other organisms have continued living in the building.  Our team collected data on ambient air movements, temperature and other interesting changes using a sensor-equipped IoT devices. This data was used to propose a series of “animated creatures” residing in the building. These “creatures”, based on initial drawings by Whittaker will come alive when using the app.

What do you anticipate the AR app data will tell us? 

The AR app is a speculative visualization of possible organisms that may thrive in situations and spaces devoid of human contact by working with data collected across the Fields’ physical spaces. The team is continuing to develop the app, working to create generative content through real-time and multi-location data processing.

What do you hope people will take away from the installation? 

In general, the project wants us to reflect on the complexity of microbial life and data thriving even when human beings are not around. It does so by using different modes of display: through biological experiments (the growth of microbes and fungi on a petri dish), through data (the recording of dynamic data with the raspberry pi), and Augmented Reality (by giving a “body” to the data being collected). 

How does one go about creating visual arts collaborations during lockdown? Were there any challenges you didn’t anticipate? And were there any positive outcomes you didn’t foresee?

What you see at Fields is the product of many negotiations and compromises, which then transformed into several subsequent projects. When the project started in early December, the plan was to have an exhibition in March 2021 for Design TO. The lockdown forced the team to transfer the project online. This also prompted the artists to think of other ways to interact with the audience and to transmit the message. The installation at Fields is the first physical manifestation of the project. 

What role do mathematics play in your art? 

Mathematics (geometry) has informed the initial experiment. It has helped the process of classifying and ordering the samples. At this later stage, it is used to collect and process data which then will be transformed into visual forms

When you conceive of a project, do you start with the mathematics or science you wish to explore, or an artistic form you wish to undertake?

Like with research, artworks start with questions. Then, you can choose the way you want to explore your question: it can be through art (image, sound, data) or science (geometry, data analytics, computing, biology etc..). what’s important in the end is the message and the experience, or the understanding this message evoke.

There is still a misconception that mathematics and art are disciplines on opposite sides of the “creative” spectrum, even though they’ve had a long historical relationship. Where do you think the modern misconception emerges from? 

As this project demonstrates, it is impossible to separate the two. While the immediate outcomes might be predominantly visual, the project could not have been conducted without the input of computing, biology, and an agreed-on research method with protocols and parameters.

Why do you think that misconception persists?

The separation between art and science is relatively new and is completely artificial. There is a very rich literature trying to flesh out the history and the rationale behind the separation. Mainly, it started during the scientific revolution and later, the enlightenment, when quantification and mechanization became crucial to scientific discovery, and the arts were increasingly considered distraction to objectivity. The separation was clearly manifested at the educational level leading to the “great divide” in art and science.  However, not only was a complete separation ever achieved (visualization, documentation, and even technical illustration require artistic skills), but it was also increasingly needed (to communicate with other scientists or with a general audience, to teach science, and to design more complex scientific research). Especially in the past few years, the arts and the sciences are becoming closer again, thanks to the proliferation of computing, and the need to study of complex phenomena requiring interdisciplinary skills and collaboration across areas of research. 

Proximal Fields will be featured at Ars Electronica from September 8 – 12 and will be displayed at the Fields Institute this fall. For more information about the installation and the ArtSci Salon, click here.