Science & Art

To the outsider Art and Science might be seen to exist in two very different worlds that have very little in common – the studio and the laboratory, the one messy and chaotic the other clean and highly organised. But like most things in life things are never so black and white and there are more parallels than at first appear. Much of the research in contemporary science happens at a microscopic scale beyond the range of the human eye, and to reveal this, the scientist has become highly versatile in using complex imaging processes. In so doing they reveal the many complex forms and structures essential to life. It is easy to assume that the artist deals more with the visible world through figuration and abstraction but the power of the work also relies on revealing something hidden - the expression of an emotional response to the subject.

In previous centuries scientists and artists often worked together to develop an understanding of all aspects of the living world and indeed there were many notable polymaths from Leonardo da Vinci to Ernest Haeckel whose knowledge and skills traversed both disciplines. With the rapid advances in technology and its tendency towards ever narrower specialisation, the twentieth century saw an unhealthy gap emerge between the Arts and Sciences, but recent awareness in the value for collaboration has seen an enlightened attitude for cross collaboration across diverse fields.
(Rob Kesseler, Artist in residence, 2010)

The Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência is one of a number of international organisations making way in this emerging field. On these pages you can read about our SciArt projects and activities.

Our projects:
Morphogenesis
Drawing: Between Art and Science
Ap-ARTES