Art vs Science

Art vs Science debate

Introduction

‘Why are we still having the old arts vs science debate? There is only one culture, and you need an open mind to absorb as much as you can’ (Tim Radford, 2008). To some art and science are seen as polar opposites, art is emotion orientated and science is data driven (John Maeda, 2013) with no link between the two. Art and science play a vital role in today’s curriculum, both contributing in a variety of ways.

Art aims vs Science aims

 It is vital that schools develop a balanced curriculum to provide an all-round education for children. To develop creative and critical thinking, aesthetic sensitivity and to build on cultural awareness. There are four aims for Art in Education

1.      To develop skills, knowledge and a positive attitude towards art and its values

2.      To feel enjoyment and satisfaction through taking part in art based activities

3.      Finally to have a life-long interest in visual arts, music, drama and crafts

Science is a core subject in KS1, KS2 and KS3, it is deeply involved with our everyday lives and what decisions we make. The aims of science in education are:

1.      To give practical hands on experience of how scientists come up with hypotheses and observe, investigate, experiment to prove the hypotheses right or wrong.

2.      To help them understand the importance of evidence when it comes to making decisions.

3.      Provide children with knowledge so they are able to make informed judgements.

Link between Art & Science

Brittani K.Irvin states that ‘The emergence of ideas for both science and art exploration can stem from observation and perception of the world around us’. There are a few areas that art and science share in terms of commonality. These being:

Experimentation – Both art and science encourage children to experiment. Art and science are experimenting with different types of materials and drawing/painting the natural environment and animals. Also drawing, designing and building inventions and structures. Experimenting with natural  and man-made resources to create images and structures. Art and science are both practical, hands on approaches to enquiry.

Creativity/Imagination – Children use their imagination to take them beyond what they can normally see, giving them a sense of freedom to express their ideas through scientific and artistic experimentation. Children are encouraged to be creative and innovative when thinking about and perceiving imaginative ideas.

Model of enquiry – Both art and science are models of enquiry. Art encourages children to investigate emotions, senses, colours, materials, textures and different ways of creating things. Scientific enquiry encourages children to interact with their natural environment and to question what they see, feel, hear and know.

Leonardo da Vinci

‘The Royal Collection says Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist. The National Gallery gang say he was an artist’ (The Guardian, 2012). Many believe he was both an artist and scientist. He ‘began to use science and mathematics to improve his art’ (Fox, no date). Through this he was able to create three-dimensional illusions in his work. Leonardo strongly believed that scientific knowledge would be obtained from repeatedly carrying out experiments opposed to unproven ideas/theories. He taught and carried out all experiments by himself and would use his drawings to create inventions, for example his flying machine and parachute. He was also interested in human anatomy, many of his drawings are considered to be just as accurate as digital imaging technology and his drawings are still referenced by professionals in the medical industry today, ‘They are the finest illustrations of particular anatomical structures to this day’ (Martin Clayton, no date). The use of drawings to aid the understanding of human anatomy shows an obvious link between art and science.

At my Junior school art and science played an equal part in our education. Science being a core subject and art foundation. Art and science were intertwined, the best example of this was when we  explored the outdoor environment in search for bugs and plants, whatever we found we would recreate using different art techniques, creating different colours and textures. Collecting the plants and bugs was the scientific enquiry and recreating what we found using different materials and techniques was the artistic response to the enquiry.

Conclusion

The art vs science debate has been going on for many years. There will always be some who say art is better, or science is better, the debate may never end. It is apparent that there are obvious links between the two areas of enquiry, science and art encourage children to be creative and investigative, just take a look at the work of Leonardo and how he used both in his work.

References

Brittani, K.I. Making Connections between Science and Art. www.academia.edu (Accessed:8^th December)

Fox, C. (no date) Leonardo Workshop. www.loc.gov/loc/kidslc/LGpdfs/leo-teacher.pdf (Accessed: 7^th December)

Jonathan, J. (2012) Is Leonardo da Vinci a great artist or a great scientist. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2012/may/01/leonardo-da-vinci-arist-or-scientist  (Accessed: 8^th December)

Sooke, A. (2013) Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomy of an artist. www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/leonardo-da-vinci/10202124/Leonardo-da-Vinci-Anatomy-of-an-artist.html (Accessed: 7^th December)