Week 1: Two Cultures
The existence of two cultures has always been a presence I've been aware of. It's easy to forget about this ongoing phenomenon because we have become so conditioned to separation, especially here at UCLA. CP Snow reflects heavily on this idea of dividing cultures in his lecture excerpt. Having recently changed my major path towards communications, I have started to experience this divide of science and art, but at the same time, I've come to understand the connection between the two. Communications is the study of human interaction, but it's through scientific reasoning and modeling. This major combines the two cultures of art and science. When we go further than scratching the surface we can identify the connection that lies between.
The Margaret Hill Hunt bridge that combines both science and art.
We see this idea of a Triangular bridge that connects the sciences and arts to an in-between or third culture. Though there is a bridge between the cultures Victoria Vesna, artist and educator, believes there is still work to be done. This brings up the argument from John Brockman's The Third culture, that there is no need for a bridge when there is already a contemporary scientist who acts as the middle man between the two cultures. I understand this idea of a middle man as a translator. I'm from a Hispanic and Greek background, so often my mom is the translator of the English and Spanish world. She takes in the two different cultures and translates it into something I can understand, sort of like scientist and artist being met in the middle by a contemporary scientist.
Depicting the idea of a middle man.
We have been given the notion that creativity and originality can be found in how one paints, or how one throws an outfit together. However, Bohm defined creativity by virtually giving it no definition. Creativity and Originality can be expressed in many different things, but it is something that has no formula or path. I've never really questioned these preconceived ideas on creativity until now. As society continues to progress I think it is important for us to adopt the ideology that Wilson brings forth to the table. Which is that there are great opportunity and possibilities from misunderstanding the moment. I think every day that the two cultures find different ways to communicate with each other whether planned or unplanned and therefore, the integration of arts and science will continue to shape the modern world through effective collaboration or simply mistaken chance.
When science and art meet to create.
Sources:
Brockman, John R. The Third Culture. Touchstone, 1996.
Bohm, David. “On Creativity.” 2012, doi:10.4324/9780203822913.
Snow, C. P., and Stefan Collini. “The Scientific Revolution.” The Two Cultures, pp. 29–40., doi:10.1017/cbo9781139196949.004.
Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121–125., doi:10.1162/002409401750184672.
Stephen Wilson, Director, Conceptual Information Arts Program, San Francisco State University http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~swilson/
Hi Nicholas, I like how you used bridge architecture as an example of a melding of art and science. Large structures like bridges and buildings are often very beautiful, but they also have to be engineered to hold up to the elements. They are a perfect example of the coming together of art and science. One example is the Burj Khaifa in Dubai. It is elegantly designed while also utilizing a structural pattern that allows it to build high and to resist strong winds.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your application of art and science with regards to the Triangular Bridge. At face value, the bridge represents the meeting point between science and art and forms a third culture. Further, your interpretation of John Brockman's third culture argument was interesting as the idea of a middle man as the third culture can be expanded to other areas as well. Your personal background is a great example of the "middle man," seamlessly integrating two cultures. On a personal note, I found your image at the bottom integrating science and art to be very apt for the class.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting how you pointed out the emergence of a new third culture in the field of communications. This is due to communications being a relatively new field that I believe is a direct result of the third culture. As depicted in the idea of the triangular bridge, understanding the fundamentals of human interaction, communications, reveals the inevitable fact that art and science are intertwined. It is only through the purposeful conditioning by the education system that the disciplines have become divided. Thus, it is important to consider as disciplines such as communications continue to grow that maybe the education system is automatically bridging the divide that it once created.
ReplyDeleteI love your appreciation of art and science. I think when we look at something like that (i.e. the bridge), we don't really think about how it does combine science and art. Your interpretation really brings out the light of how two cultures can "bridge" each other, and the idea of a middle mxn really highlights how integrating can happen so often, especially in cases like yours.
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