Science and art have co-existed as disciplines throughout human history. Both are manifestations of the human imagination and require a modicum of creativity and skill in observation. From intricate star-shaped geometries employed by architects during the Islamic Golden Age and the application of materials science in manuscript illumination and lettering, to the emergence of natural history as a fledgling science during the artistic Renaissance period in Europe, the two disciplines frequently intermingled.
As an early scientist, it was one’s job to accurately depict natural phenomena through artistic illustration, which was invaluable to studying and classifying the natural world. Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, through his insightful human anatomical drawings, and Charles Darwin, through his accurate ornithological depictions in “On the Origin of Species”, both demonstrated how science and art could be indistinguishable at times, and that to be a scientist required skills in many other disciplines. Perhaps the most renowned example of the “Renaissance man”, which was a person who was knowledgeable in many things, was Leonardo Da Vinci, who was a painter, sculptor, engineer, botanist, and scientist.
By the 19th century, however, science and art have diverged into separate cultures as methodologies started to differ; science was becoming more specialized, governed by organization and rules, while art was becoming more personalized. Schools and universities separated the disciplines, making it difficult to study both. While artists have developed their own schools of thought and methods, diverging from the classical art that also stemmed from observation, many contemporaries continue to draw inspiration from science to spread beauty of the natural world, as well as to evoke wonder of the “unknown”.
But what about scientists? Do they still draw inspiration from their artist compatriots?
Contrary to the popular opinion that science and art are polar opposites, many scientific discoveries today continue to draw on artistic principles. For example, the Foldscope is an origami-based paper microscope; with its low cost and ease of assembly through paper folding, it opens windows for collecting scientific images in remote regions. Slavic ornaments, which utilize elaborate geometric patterns, have inspired the design of more efficient sound absorbers for the manipulation of low-frequency sound. A painting called “Court Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk” from the Tang Dynasty in China, depicting a lady with a blue-green tattoo on her forehead, was the inspiration for a printable and self-adhesive nanogel-based tattoo that monitors UV radiation from sunshine and Vitamin D synthesis of an individual.
Despite the cultural separation of science and art into individual disciplines, they remain interconnected. At its core, science can be thought of as a form of art and vice versa. Both scientists and artists study and interpret the world they live in, albeit using different modes of expression, with similar goals of expressing truth. As Albert Einstein once said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science.” Postulating that art and science arise from the same essence, he also states “The greatest scientists are always artists as well.” Therefore, while not officially dubbed as artists, the “Renaissance man” is still embodied by scientists today, highlighting the creative dimensions of scientific work.
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