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Another will be published in CD-ROM form. In addition, D|MA
is hosting the Electronic Literature Organization that promotes this type
of interaction and has helped organize a national conference on this
theme.
For Ruth West, a graduate of D|MA with a deep love of a
painting and a prior degree in microbiology and molecular genetics, art
and science had always been disconnected. After a career in healthcare at
UCLA's School of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, her parallel
life working as a painter in her studio led her to enroll in UCLA's
Department of Design | Media Arts. West's understanding of art and science
as different approaches to the same thing—the production of knowledge—has
inspired her inquiry into the creation of a common ground between the two
disciplines.
In the graduate seminar "Genetics and Culture: From
Molecular Music to Transgenic Art," West drew upon her knowledge of
genetics and visual culture to foster this hybrid space with students from
such diverse backgrounds as world arts and cultures, molecular biology,
design, immunology, architecture, and psychology. To find common ground in
this heterogeneous group, West approached the material from themes and
metaphors in the world of art and on the frontiers of science. The
resulting dialogue among the students—looking from both perspectives
towards an understanding greater than that contained in any one
discipline—was manifested in projects informed by flexible thinking and
non-linear leaps of imagination.
(http://www.viewingspace.com/genetics-culture.htm). |
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This collective experience generated works of staggering
originality. Installations, sculpture, computer graphics,
ceramic tiles, mosaic, genetic calligraphy, collage, and even
performance—all were used to express themes ranging from a
genetic utopia and the meaning of Chinese characters to the
relationship between the sexes and questions relating to
genetic engineering and the meaning of being "normal."
Initially offered in the School of the Arts and Architecture,
this spring West will be teaching the genetics and culture
seminar in the biotechnology and society general education
cluster where she is a teaching fellow—another indication of
the reciprocal interest of the scientific community in the
language of art.
Creating a context for the
interaction of art and science is a natural outgrowth of the
activities of the University. For Vesna as an artist, the
imperative to sustain and expand this dialogue with science is
at the heart of the continuing growth and vitality of the
university. "With so many huge paradigm shifts being
introduced by scientific |
innovations—and at such speed," she says, "it is more
important than ever for artists to envision possibilities,
pose difficult questions, and help understand the deeper
meaning of these discoveries."
Whatever pitfalls may
arise in this burgeoning interaction between art and science,
digital information technology is unquestionably building
bridges and fostering an academic climate that values genuine
collaboration, "not simply," Hayles says, "a serial
progression of talks where each speaker presents his or her
ideas without engaging those of others." The willingness to
think outside the box engendered by the collaborative climate
makes imagination and intuition operating principles rather
than defenses between intellectual boundaries. This, in turn,
has created a dynamic and provocative exchange—an exchange
that Gimzewski hails as "revolutionary versus
evolutionary."
Susan Martin is a writer and editor, and has
worked on numerous books about contemporary art and popular
culture. She lives up a dirt road in New
Mexico. |
From "The Trajectory of Forgetting"
(2002), Ruth West. The left portion of the image is
composed of unaltered images from the database; the
right portion is comprised of images that have been
altered by interaction with
viewers. | |
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