Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
conversations in art and science
Published by the Wellcome Trust
Reviewed by: David Butler
Over the past decade there has been a growing fascination with art/science collaborations; this reflects a growth in collaborative art practice generally. That practice has been non-gallery based, involved artists working with people from other disciplines and has hybridised forms, processes and knowledges to the extent that the question of where the art lies is often problematic and possibly non-essential.
Science, then, is one among many fields open to collaborative practice. But it's a rich field to explore because of its specialised and powerful knowledge and social/political practices, and that is what has attracted artists. That a large number of scientists respond to approaches by artists reflects a desire to explore the thought processes underlying scientific research rather than a search for new knowledge. So, from neither side is there an assumption of a new discipline.
This book reflects that very well but it doesn't make a critical evaluation of what goes on when that happens: "It would be fatuous to think that art is like science or vice versa, or that the combination of the two could create a new academic discipline," says Birgit Arends in her introduction. But she continues with the possibility for "new transdisciplinary knowledge". She doesn't, however, examine what that may be, but leaves that to the work presented in the book.
If you are looking for a critical reader in art and science collaborations this is not it – but then it doesn't set out to do that. Experiment presents a series of collaborations supported through the Wellcome Trust's SciArt programme, which has been one of the major influences on science/art collaborations in the UK. Along with Arts Catalyst, it has possibly defined the field.
Experiment presents, in some detail (and with very good illustrations), seven projects and gives a brief description all thirty-two SciArt projects funded by Wellcome between 2000 and 2002. In her introduction Arends talks about the difficulty of finding an appropriate aesthetic and linguistic form to present such a diverse range of projects. This search for the right form is what forgives the book for its lack of critical overview. The editors have allowed the projects to speak for themselves in a way that enables the reader to get inside, not just the working processes, but also the thinking of the artists and scientists.
This is largely through manufactured dialogues, which is not a form I usually like or find revealing or informative. But these dialogues are really well written and edited. The exchange between Bobby Baker and Richard Hallam is particularly good, and seems the most truly collaborative project. With many of the others I get the feeling either that artists are being used to explore or demonstrate an idea (eg Soundless Music) or that artist and scientist have developed parallel projects (eg Medusae). But performance artist Bobby Baker and psychologist Richard Hallam seem to demonstrate the "new transdisciplinary knowledge". Their project culminated in a performance as a kind of experiment. Hallam describes this as being "unlike a true experiment where theoretical hypotheses about the outcome are being tested". He goes on to say that the ability of such an event to generate new perceptions doesn't "preclude an evaluation by methods that are sound from a scientific point of view".
There is a serious need for critical analysis of this field. The last book on this area, to my knowledge, was Strange and Charmed: science and the contemporary visual arts. What Experiment does is to highlight the richness of the field and expose the breadth of material for critical study. Hopefully we will see the response to that (or maybe I'm just reading the wrong books and I've missed something).
David Butler is currently Coordinator of Life, Work Art, a professional practice programme at Newcastle University and co-director of Interrupt a project examining social art practice.
For a chance to win one of five copies of Experiment: conversations in art and science published by the Wellcome Trust, go to 'Subscriber prize'
Writer detail:
David Butler is a writer and researcher.
david.butler@ncl.ac.uk |
www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs/staff/profile/david.butler
Venue detail:
Wellcome Trust (The)
215 Euston Road, LONDON NW1 2BE
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