As social media grows more and more in our everyday lives, it’s becoming abundantly clear how science and art go hand-in-hand. Both are ways to understand the world around us.
Both scientists and artists strive to see and explain the world in new ways and to communicate that vision. When you combine the two, it can provide a powerful tool for science communication and for showing the creative side that quite a lot of scientists have.
Both science and art are human attempts to understand and describe the world around us. The subjects and methods have different traditions, and the intended audiences are different, but I think the motivations and goals are fundamentally the same.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/03/16/why-art-and-science-are-more-closely-related-than-you-think/?sh=5e3647a869f1
In high school I found myself combining my love of science with my projects for art class. It was something my art teacher had pointed out to me one day, mentioning that a majority of the projects I had submitted that year had all centered around or had the theme of science. I had never noticed that theme before it was pointed out, and from that point onward it’s been something I have strived to do.
As the years went on I became more interested in combining the two subjects, so I started to do some research and started following any scientists on Twitter and Instagram whose artwork centered around science communication and scientific illustration (ex. biomedical illustrations, natural and botanical illustrations, etc.).
The hashtag #SciArt was the main source I used to discover such amazing scientists and artists. It’s inspiring to see all the amazing art people have made and all the different mediums that people use. From digital art to embroidery, there is no limit to showing the passion these artists have for science and for creating art.
Sciart creates a bridge between scientists and artists. Using art in science gives us the ability to visualize and imagine certain processes and is important to solving scientific problems. It also helps us show the beauty that we see in science, nature, and what we do as scientists.
For example, “scientific/botanical illustration is a form of art as well as scientific inquiry with an emphasis on the scientific subject rather than the visual art itself. It serves the essential function of illuminating a plant’s distinguishing features that may be unique to a certain taxa” – Sean Vidal Edgerton (@thepenandpangolin on Instagram). Sean is an amazing scientific illustrator who was one of the first science-art accounts I followed on Instagram.
Another example of combining science with art is Philip Beesley, an architect based here in Toronto, Canada whose group specializes in architectural design of public buildings, public art and experimental installations. Many of his installations evoke a similar presence to being in natural environments through the beautiful and geometric shapes he creates in the space in combination with spatial sounds and lights. His artwork is a lot more experimental and just very vaguely has the presence of science; it’s more of the overall environment aspect of science (in my opinion).
First Image: Hylozoic Ground. Canadian Paviliun, Venice Biennale. Venice, Italy – 2010
Second Image: Hylozoic Soil: Meduse Field. Mois-Multi Festival. Quebec City, Canada – 2010
Third Image: Ocean. Nuit Blanche. Toronto, Canada – 2016
As of right now, the art I’ve been creating over on my science Instagram (@stuffomatic) has been related to medical lab professionals and have done commissions for other scientists on the platform! Also frogs with blood tubes, that’s also a series I’ve been doing over there. It’s been an absolute blast creating all of these since all of these illustrations show how I see these students and professionals! I want to slowly hone my skills and create more graphics and illustrations to showcase my love for science and communicate topics in the field in a fun and informative way.
It’s been such a fun journey watching sciart grow on social media. I am absolutely in love with what individuals have created and shared to the world. I’m excited to see what I will be creating and what my favrouite artist will create as this area on social media grows.
Stay tuned for a future blog post that will be highlighting some of my favourite sciart accounts on Instagram and Twitter!
Sources and Interesting Reads & Videos
Forbes: Why Art and Science Are More Closely Related Than You Think. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/03/16/why-art-and-science-are-more-closely-related-than-you-think/
Forbes: Why Art Is Vital To The Study Of Science. https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2020/07/31/why-art-is-vital-to-the-study-of-science/
Nature: How to Shape a Productive Scientist-Artist Collaboration. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00397-1
The Science of Art by Greg and Mitch (AsapSCIENCE): https://youtu.be/MSquGYHoSd0
Integration of Art and Science | Yoko Shimizu | TEDxTokyo. https://youtu.be/uDfVMvbCusY
Fieldnotes: Where Art Meets Exploration by EVNautilus. https://youtu.be/vS1VTBI_FN0
Thanks so much for reading!
I hope you have a nice day!
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