Art And Science

I’m not sure where to begin but I’m glad to say I have been having a good last few tours with students and my family gallery walk. I made two tours, one based on the idea of dance and the other on science and technology.

This weekend, I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Adler Planetarium and saw some really cool exhibits which echoed my recent interest in science and technology both in art and in the museum.

Kohl’s Art Generation Lab: Museum Inside Out
Milwaukee Art Museum

It’s a little jarring at first to approach, but I quickly realized that the tv is looped footage of people looking at a work of art and talking about it, but we as the viewers can not see the actual piece. So instead, we are watching educators lead discussions and ask guided questions as though we are the work of art ourselves. Cool right?

Conservation display at Kohl’s Art Generation Lab
Milwaukee Art Museum

A foreshadowing of our next museum practices seminar with Conservation–can’t wait!

Rooms of Wonders
Milwaukee Art Museum

I also really liked the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Rooms of Wonder, which harks back to museum’s history as curiosity cabinets full of fossils, shells, works of art, and wondrous things.

Ceramica – Rooms of Wonders
Milwaukee Art Museum

Opening each of the drawers and finding new things really made the experience so exciting and seeing how pieces of the natural world (fossils, precious geodes, coral, etc) in conjunction with prints, ceramics in this way really hit home my interest in art & science.

The Adler Planetarium was also a pretty amazing experience because of their way of presenting art and objects and their focuses on education was certainly interesting.

“The Middle Ages”
Adler Planetarium

Adler Planetarium

Astrolabes display
Adler Planetarium

From my very enjoyable visits, I had a revelation as to why I’ve been so enamored of the art, science, and technology theme in my tour. For one, I am a big supporter of multidisciplinary education, and especially of arts-integrated curriculum. With so many budget cuts and discussion of making museums more accessible and relevant to students, it is not just a matter of making art history available, but also about using the power of visual material in all studies.

For another, I realized that while art is a visual language, some art speaks to and resonates in more people than others, for whatever set of reasons. Finding a universal one, which transcends time and cultures is what a lot of artists strive to do. Science is also the study of life and technology has bridged many cultures, people, and artforms together. So I think my fascination with art, science, and technology together is something which has developed organically from my interest in education, crafts, and contemporary art since nearly all people today are very much aware and influenced by a number of things made available through history, education, and of course, the Internet.