Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
I'm not trying to mimic the fish. It's more like I'm trying to grasp the unusual and strange elements of the topic. When I was asking the scientists, for example, about one fish that has a flashing light organ under its eye, a lot of the answers felt like just interpretations, they just happen to work. It's never one hundred percent. And I was thinking, in my installations, people think different creatures are almost communicating with each other, but they're not quite sure. These unexplained things ambiguous, unknown elements they fascinate me1.
As CJ describes, one very important element of his work is communicating a feeling of wonder and curiosity. Just as CJ studied bioluminescent organisms at the museum, he hopes viewers will study his sculptures and guess at how they function and move. More of CJs work can be viewed on his website: http://www.messymix.com/
http://www.xymara.com/inmyx/index/inmyx709/cu-200907-index/cu-200907-shihchiehhuang.htm
Shih Chieh Huang knew this examination was critical to his artwork. And the collections themselves repaid him for his investigation, sparking his imagination and creativity. Neither reconstructions nor biological models, Huangs constructions are full of warmth, whimsy, and artistic genius. Lynne Parenti, Curator of Fishes, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, NMNH
How are art and science similar? How do you think they differ? Similarities:
The process artists and scientists go through in their work is similar. They both rely heavily on observation. Artists observe the human form in order to paint it, for example. A behavioral ecologists may sit and watch squirrels behavior for hours. The observations scientists and artists make help them gain a deeper understanding of their subjects. Curiosity about the world is a necessary quality for both artists and scientists to have. Scientists usually have a deep curiosity about the world around them and are propelled to study because of a thirst for knowledge. Artists also have a great curiosity about the natural world and how we see. Scientists and artists oftentimes both work with the natural world. Scientists study natural phenomenon such as animals, bugs, and flowers. Artists also study natural subject matter such as the landscape, or the human form. Artists and scientists strive for their messages to be universal. An artist exhibiting in any museum wants share a personal message with the world and connect to other people. Scientists take what they learn from their specific research and compare it other research to see if it matches. They hope to find a pattern that can explain a worldwide natural phenomenon. Creativity is necessary when working in both disciplines. While artists may be thought of as the creative ones, a lot of what creativity is in the art world is working from constraints. Artists must work with what they have, the time, money, and support they get. Similarly scientists mush work around these constraints and must develop creative hypotheses accordingly. While it may seem like artists are the ones who are constantly striving for a unique voice, scientists must also look at problems from unique perspectives in order to learn new things about their subjects.
Differences:
Artists analyze the way we see the world. They interested more in human emotions and experience, and are concentrated on visual culture. Scientists look objectively at how the world works. They are interested in the properties and laws that govern our world. The end result or product artists and scientists make is rather different. Fine artists that exhibit in museums tend to make physical objects whether that is a painting or a video piece. Even dancers, actors, and authors who represent a different type of art create something that has to be experienced. Rather than emotional experiences, scientists end up with more hard facts and knowledge. They tend to produce work that must be read, analyzed, and studied.
Can science ever been seen as art, or art as science? What makes them distinct?
Scientific illustration could be seen as both art and science. Artists make detailed drawings of plants, insects, and other organisms so that scientists can study them. It is important that the drawings be scientifically accurate so that they can be used for information. Certain visual techniques artists use are very scientific making them seem more like a science project. Op Art, which was developed in the 60s tricks the eye into visual illusions so that a 2D surface make look like it is folding in on itself. An older example of this kind of art is perspective drawing. While it is commonplace today tricking the eye to believe a 2D surface looks like a 3D space was revolutionary when it first was develop in the 5th Century.
Statement of Purpose:
This exhibit is part of part of the Museums initiative to include fine arts inspired by natural history science in response to Interplay of Perspectives: History, Art & Culture + Science, a report by the Office of Policy and Analysis discussing
opportunities and rationales for interdisciplinary collaboration2. Just as the knowledge and methods from one discipline can stimulate creativity and discovery in another, so too can exhibitions that highlight the results of these collaborations encourage curiosity and wonder in visitors. Through these exhibitions, we seek to draw audiences who might not otherwise visit the Museum, to model the interdisciplinary connections between science and art, and to provoke a sense of awe about the natural world and our place in it.
Exhibition messages:
Natural history collections can inspire artistic creativity, as well as intellectual curiosity. An aesthetic, or emotional, responseby the artist and the viewersto these collections strengthens the links between humanity and the rest of the natural world. Collaborations between artists and scientists provide a scientific foundation for creative work and open new doors to imaginative exploration of the natural history collections. In the deep-sea, most marine fish and invertebrates, even bacteria and algae, are bioluminescent. They seek prey, find mates, and warn off predators, among other functions, by creating and emitting light in particular flash patterns. In this deep oceanic environment, where sunlight does not penetrate, bioluminescence is the primary source of light. This exhibition will invoke the wonder and sense of mystery of the oceans depth and the strange creatures that live there. The environmental installation of Huangs creatures will promote an aesthetic, emotional response in the visitor about the beauty of life in the ocean.
Learning Outcomes:
increase their appreciation for the interplay between the arts and science develop new curiosities and understandings about the ocean and the organisms that live within it increase their understanding of what bioluminescence is, how it works, and how it benefits certain oceanic organisms
Interplay of Perspectives: History, Art & Culture, Science. Smithsonian Institution. September 2010. http://www.si.edu/opanda/docs/Rpts2010/HACSci100913f.pdf. July 2011.
2