they are not some major scientific discovery, it
has proved to me that the strategy is working.
The ultimate goal is to make visually compelling
paintings that are grounded in a well thought
out scientifically inspired methodology. They
can be seen as just paintings, but if the viewer
wants to go deeper, the ideas and concepts are
there as well.
Q: What do you feel are the particular
challenges a science-based artist encounters,
based on your own experience?
A: I think the main challenge is to strike a good
balance between art and science. I am a highly
visual person, interested in work that endures,
and if something does not strike me visually,
then I am not likely to investigate further, no
matter how interesting the science behind it
might be. It is tricky to balance the theory
and conceptual underpinnings to an absorbing
visual experience. Science, and especially
technology, can be so powerfully seductive as to
take over the work. If that technology becomes
mundane in the future, the artwork may fade
as well. We live in a world with so much visual
stimulation that it is a real challenge to create
a meaningful visual experience that stands out.
Personally, I think this is very important. True
art feeds us in a way that is difficult to qualify
scientifically because it is of the realm of the
subjective. I think the scientific method is
perhaps humanity’s greatest achievement and
yet its objective nature has limited its success
in explaining the subjective experience of
consciousness. This dichotomy is the ultimate
challenge for the art/science union and as such,
I think, the most exciting.
Q: In 2012 you co-curated a science-based
art show, can you talk a little bit about that
experience?
A: Emergence and Structure was a fantastic
experience. It started with the idea of being
a small show at Lafayette College, but there
was enough interest to have it travel to the
University of Florida (in Gainesville), Miami-
Untitled 19
(2012). 21
2/3” x 29
7/8”. Acrylic
polymer emulsion on paper
mounted on
panel. Courtesy McKenzie
Fine Art.
18
SciArt in America August 2013