ART and science: putting them together risks conjuring up visions of woolly-minded nonsense involving coloured wheels and pulleys, communing with animals or morphing blobs on computer screens. Does it have to be that way? In our “Art meets science” articles we examine the growth of new neural links – or, some might argue, the regrowth of old ones – between these two cultural giants.
The good news is that bringing artists and scientists together doesn’t have to result in vapid nonsense. The bad is that there’s little consensus about how to ensure that the products of these collaborations are greater than the sum of their parts.
The digitisation of everyday life looks certain to provide opportunities for new creative networks. What we need now is to temper the uncritical celebration of all things collaborative with a hard look at what lies beneath. Most importantly, we need evidence on how to make this fusion fruitful.
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What do you make of it all? Are we on the verge of a fundamental change – a second renaissance, as art historian Martin Kemp hopes? Or is collaboration just a convenient buzzword to tap new sources of funding? Take part in our survey at Art meets science: What do you think of it all? to have your say.
Breaking down barriers could benefit both sides but we need to go beyond bizarre installations and amusing gizmos. Creating something important will take better data, and a mixture of tough, but open, minds.