The Overlap of Science and Art

In 2013, my brother received a Master’s Degree in Food Science from The Ohio State University. By definition of his degree, he is a scientist. Shortly before graduation, he placed second in the Haynes Graduate Research Forum for an Art Oral Presentation. He proudly boasts that he is an award-winning artist. For the record, he submitted his research in the incorrect category by mistake. 

Since that day, I have been fascinated by the overlap of science and art. How did a scientist win an art award? Do all artists have a little bit of scientist in them?

Science is art.
And art is science. At least according to the late Dave Featherstone, a Professor of Biology/Neuroscience at the University of Illinois-Chicago. The reason why science and art overlap and intersect is simple. “Both science and art are human attempts to understand and describe the world around us.” 

The goal of science and art is to change the way we see the world. To uncover new truths. Unfortunately, new discoveries in science and art do not occur simply because we wish it to be so. “There must be an ability to pass long hours in study and research with pleasure even though some of the effort will inevitably lead to dead ends. Such is the price of admission.” E. O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and the world’s leading expert on ants, shared this advice for new scientists. 

Although Wilson was writing to fellow scientists, his words hold true to artists as well. 

The “Art of Science” Exhibit

Study and research are the framework for Princeton University’s “Art of Science” exhibit. The collection, founded as a collaboration between the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Visual Arts Program, highlights work by undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, alumni and staff.

When you look at the 2017 gallery, it’s not easy to discern which pieces were submitted by “artists” or “scientists.” The curated collection blurs the lines between the two fields of study to create visually stunning and thought-provoking pieces.

Art and science aren’t two separate things but are instead interwoven.

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