Science and Art

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is perhaps the artist most identified with science. The drawing above by Leonardo demonstrates his interest in proportion. Proportional study was critical to science during Leonardo's lifetime because a standard system of measurement did not exist. Systems of measurements often varied from city to city (See Fritjof Capra's excellent book The Science of Leonardo page 169).

Since the renaissance, technology has more often than not allowed artists and scientists to drift apart. There is still the need to illustrate, graph, and describe science with traditional artists tools. However, In the nineteenth and twentieth century a dramatic increase in scientific invention and information has ushered in an age of specialization where scientific understanding is no longer dependent on the artist's power to observe and record. Electron microscopes, x-rays, and cameras small enough to be inserted in the body are now allowing scientists, engineers, and doctors to see in enhanced ways.

Although most artists are not deeply engaged in science and most scientists don't have time to become full time artists, the two fields of study share many common aspects. For instance, both disciplines are likely to begin with studies or tests, comparison is key to both scientific and artistic analysis, perspective and observation remain critical, and finally imagination and creative thinking is essential to scientific and artistic development.

Art involves a study of life as it relates to the senses and intellect. So, we should see some connections between art and the techniques used for investigating our universe (scientific method). Art remains capable of presenting scientific findings in unique ways. Art can also provide a humanistic context for science that is capable of critiquing mankind's use of science.

Below are examples of art that describe, critique, and presents science in a variety of ways. What is art and what is science can often be hard to separate. Notably, my initial inspiration for this post was a contest and exhibit titled The Art of Science that students at Princeton University take part in annually. The contest challenges students, who study a range of subjects, to consider science as art and art as science.

National public Radio had a series called "Where Science Meets Art" and one example from this series involves science told through comics. The artwork above is by Leland Purvis and Jay Hosler.

GFP Bunny is a genetically engineered rabbit by Eduardo Kac (born 1962).

Based on study by Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia (1499/1500 - 1557) this illustration exhibits the relationship between geometric analysis, physics, and canon fire.

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) said "Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe." This image is from Galileo's Dialogues.

Dorothea Rockburne's (born 1932) work has also been inspired by a study of geometry. Above is her work: Pascal’s Provincial Letters, Oil on gessoed linen , Size 67" x 67" x 8", Date 1987.

Here are links to other serious artists inspired by science: Beauvais Lyons, Beverly Fishman, Vija Clemins also on Art 21, Walter De Maria, and Damien Hirst. (I hope to add more soon)

Relief Prints

Lyonel Feininger (German/American 1871-1956), Volcano, 1918

This fall I am teaching relief printing as part of an introductory printmaking course. During the first class, I introduced examples of relief prints from art history. Many of these images are included in this post. After this presentation/lecture, students began to work on preparatory drawings that would lead them toward their own print. Although this stage of design can't be seen in the prints shown here, during this sketch stage the aesthetic treatment of one's subject and its compositional layout can be considered and revised. Once a plan is made, the design is render on the surface of the carving block (usually linoleum or wood). When the drawing is in place then the remainder of the work revolves around carving and printing. Surprises can arise while carving, and adjustments can be made after a proof is printed. However, it is the initial planning which I believe to be the most critical to the success of this kind of print (one that relies on describing form).

The prints included in this post are related to German Expressionist prints and prints made in Mexico during the first half of the 20th century. When discussing these prints with the students, I asked them to notice how the negative space (the space around the main subject or subjects) can contribute to the organization of a picture. If the shapes that the negative spaces make are complex then this can lead to a more active image. Although a larger amount of white or black around a figure or subject can lead to a dramatic presentation, rarely is the background (or negative space) all white or all black in these examples. Here marks are often used to activate spaces that can be undervalued to the passive viewer. In other words, the type of mark made according to its width, length, and direction is integral and an important subject unto itself.

Francisco Dosamantes (Mexican 1911-1986), Scandal, 1945

Carving does not allow for shading but value differences can be created optically by the proximity of marks. The smaller and farther apart marks are the lighter a picture will appear. In other words, the more one carves the lighter the image will be when printed because there will be less raised surface area for the ink roller to make contact with. However, exceptions will occur when the printing method involves explicitly over inking the matrix or that the carved marks remain too shallow and collect ink.

Below are examples with notes and links. Some of the artists are less known and I am pleased to include them here because they made important contributions to the larger milieu of their time and culture.

Karl Jakob Hirsch (German 1892-1952), Self Portrait, 1915

Franz M. Jansen (German 1885-1958), 8 O'clock, 1920

Käthe Kollwitz (German 1867-1945), The Widow II, 1923

Isabel Villaseñor (Mexican 1909-1953) Self Portrait, 1929

I could not find a lot of information about Villaseñor. She was a poet and artist who also appears as a model in many well regarded photographs.

Tamiji Kitagawa (Japanese, 1894-1989) Extracting Sap from a Maguey Plant, 1930

Tamiji Kitagawa was born in Japan but came to live in Mexico.

Scroll Drawing

Currently, I am exhibiting artwork at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center in Michigan (August 6 - 27th). Included in the exhibit is a thirty-two foot long drawing of a scroll.

In 2003 or 2004 I had bought a roll of paper. Having not used it by 2005, I thought about the possibility of making the entire roll into one long drawing. At that point, I didn't know how long the roll was or how long it would take to use all of the paper. This summer I was able to measure the drawing and for the first time I was able to see the finished piece at one time.

When trying to comprehend a work that is very large and or sculptural, it requires multiple views to piece together a sense of the whole work. For this reason, I took multiple photographs to document this work.

The drawing was completed in three different stages. At each stage I would work on a section for a particular exhibit. During the first stage, I completed a part that was included in an exhibit at the Pennsylvania College of Art.

I continued work on the scroll for the exhibit "Naked Paper" at Tower Gallery in Philadelphia (Tower Gallery is now closed). For this part of the drawing, I depicted many large towers.

I completed the last part for the exhibit "Dig" in the Washington D.C. area. The gallery had only enough space to exhibit the last section. The last part is comprised of a collage related to the "Dig" exhibit as well as depictions of well-known people spewing forth quotations or aphorisms they are known for.

By the time I had the chance to show the entire scroll in Kalamazoo I had only a few corrections to make. For me one of the biggest surprises of this project was the shape at the beginning and end of the roll of paper. I don't think the manufacturer considered that artists would use these parts.

Gwen Frostic and the Cherry Hut

(The front entrance of Gwen Frostic's print shop and store)

This summer I visited two popular destinations in Northern Michigan. One of these sites is Gwen Frostic's print shop and store in Benzonia, Michigan. The other destination is the Cherry Hut in near by Beulah, Michigan.

(A portrait of Gwen Frostic)

Gwen Frostic (1906 -2001)was an artist who made linoleum cut prints using motifs from nature to make cards and books. A few of the cards feature unlikely themes for greeting cards (e.g. cards that feature rainfall or one animal devouring another). I feel Frostic tried to reveal nature's beauty without simplifying its complexity.

(Printing presses at Gwen Frostic)

Recently, Gwen Frostic's Printshop seems to have fallen on some hard times and was shut down for a while. However, with new owners the printing center and store have re-opened. Although the website for this popular destination could use some updating, the actual location is a fascinating excursion. Frostic created a facility where people could watch the printing of her uniquely designed cards. Many cards and products are featured in the store and are favorably priced. Year after year I have come back to visit the press and shop to buy more cards. Seeing the unique building and grounds, the press operation, and the many cards and books is well worth a few hours of time.

(Gwen Frostic's cards)

(Books by Gwen Frostic)

Finally, after I left Gwen Frostic's shop this year, I stopped at the Cherry Hut. The Cherry Hut is opened seasonally in the spring and summer months and is minutes from Gwen Frostic. The graphic sign out front is well known in the area (see the image below). This local diner (established in 1922) offers a fine cherry pie.

(The Cherry Hut sign and entrance)

The Pajama Factory

This summer I have traveled from Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia) to Michigan. I am teaching in the summer program at Interlochen Center for the arts. Interlochen is in Northwest Michigan, near Traverse City. On the way there, I stopped in Williamsport, Pennsylvania to visit the artist Chad Andrews. Chad has been an early tenant in the Pajama Factory. The Pajama Factory is a building that holds artist studios and performance space. It is owned by Mark Winkelman who is an architect from New York City.


This floor of the Pajama Factory has yet to be developed.

I have seen other cities convert old factory buildings into studios (e.g., the Crane Building in Philadelphia or the Goggle Works in Reading, PA) but I have never seen a building this large with so much potential. This makes me wonder if projects like the Pajama Factory will have a greater impact on the art we see in the future? As the internet has made images of artists' work more accessible and art fairs have made it easier for galleries to make sales in multiple markets, will artists seek out these new centers where the rent is relatively inexpensive compared to big cities? One of the smart choices that the Pajama factory has made was to start an artist residency program. This allows young artists to consider being an artist in a less than obvious place.


A renovated floor with new studios.

After touring the building with Chad Andrews, I began to feel that another advantage to a facility of this kind is that resources can be consolidated. For example, Andrews has refurbished several printing presses and just opened a printmaking workshop akin to Second State Press (located in the Crane Building, Phila. PA). So far Andrews has signed up several talented local artists (e.g., Jeremiah Johnson and Lori Crossley) for membership and access to his print shop. Only time will tell how large projects like the Pajama Factory will work. However, I feel a wider range of studio options will only benefit to the artists of the the future.


Chad Andrews's new printmaking studio.

Anchorage

Two years ago I started a painting (acrylic on canvas) that was to be dominated by the chroma white. Initially, I was inspired by the abstract paintings of Robert Ryman. Ryman is known to use an abundance of white. Rather than making an abstract painting, I wanted to paint a boat I called the "Arkadelphia" making its way to Anchorage, Alaska. My painting was to depicted extreme cold through extreme white.

As I started to paint, I quickly realized that what appeared to be white on the palette no longer looked white on the canvas. Any little bit of color mixed with white had a profoundly colorful effect when placed on my canvas and compared with other more pure whites. I found that my image began to suffer from two flaws: either I made it too white and the imagery became difficult to see or I added too much color and then it was no longer dominated by white paint.

Not knowing how to proceed, I left the painting alone for two years and this June, after what I consider a long detour, I began to work on it again. Forgetting about my original objective, I began painting portraits inside the boat. Later, as I worked I tried to make these portraits whiter and concentrate on cool colors (blues and greens).

After working on the painting for a couple of days, I arrived at a point of decision again. Rather than continue and obliterate the image with more white, instead I stopped. This is the point at which I dropped anchor and the painting remained still. This metaphor of "dropping anchor" became an apt description and I wondered if the city of Anchorage was founded in a similarly specific and arbitrary way. After finishing this not so white painting (see the image below), I wondered if I would ever successfully make a painting truly dominated by the color white. Perhaps this future painting will have to depict a scene in route to Antarctica.

Anchorage, by Kip Deeds, 25" x 26 1/2", Acrylic on Canvas, 2010

Crack Update

The cracks in my previous post (as seen in the photographs) are located on State Route 3003 near Laceyville PA.