MA Dissertation’ Mr MD Nin
[2011]
University of Central Lancashire
Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Northern School of Design
Postgraduate Project/Dissertation
DE4115
2010/11
Project/Dissertation
‘The Great Divide’
Is there a useful connection between science and art?
Matthew D Nin (MA Ceramics)
1. Introduction
Throughout my practice over the years within Art & Design, when given the opportunity to
write my own brief or use my own personal inspiration for a project, I always seem to
gravitate towards topics which lead me into a deeper scientific or philosophical research. This
has ranged from the complexities of the human ear and other sensory organs both biological
to physical properties of the senses, to skimming over the workings of our planet on almost
every scale. I find it impossible not to find splendour and intrigue in such natural and awe
inspiring ‘scientific awareness’.
However the more I begin to understand my own reasons for such interpretation within art,
the more I begin to question the reasons why so many other artists (old and new) choose the
earth sciences, in particular physical geology, as their source of inspiration. I am aware that it
may well be the fact that the only real immediate reason for the inspiration it gives many
artists is its pure aesthetic nature and diversity. But within recent times there has been an
increase in awareness of environmental and social concerns and this may well bring itself into
the artists mindset during his creation to add to a pieces narrative or help give the artist even
greater inspiration to build upon the aesthetic qualities which inspired him/her in the first
instance.
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I believe science informs art, and art can inform science, concerning research and creativity. I
hope the following project will help me uncover some of the mysteries behind the two
seemingly disconnected cultures. Is there a useful connection between science and art, or do
these two kinds of human endeavour have nothing at all in common? In the past science and
art were integral to one another and would help enlighten both practices, new discoveries and
samples could be documented with beautiful hand drawn and painted precision. I will look
briefly back into history (particularly the renaissance) and move on through to modern
advances in science, art and creative thinking. I am interested in why these ‘two cultures’
seem to have drifted apart academically and culturally in recent times (scientific revolution).
Is the divide between science and art as big as we think it is? Can a bridge be made? This will
involve a wide range of research material, from the renaissance to psychology of the artistic
and scientific mind, to factors and philosophies effecting artists choice of inspiration and their
rational behind their work. I intend to look at the reasons why physical geology and earth
sciences in particular are popular sources of inspiration for many artists past and present, and
what motivates artists to interpret their natural surroundings.
When discussing the topic of art and science I will not be focusing on the product of these
practices for example, the significance of a piece of art work compared to Newton’s law of
relativity, but rather the creative mindset behind both entities and similarities within the
methodology. It is obvious in science that a creative mind is necessary to discover new
phenomenon in order to understand aspects that are not visually obvious. Likewise in art the
process of creating is often combined with experimentation and exploration. Legaspi’s
“Preferential States of the Dichotomy of Human Nature: Art & Science” describes the two as
follows, “Both employ keen observations, some measure of experimentation, procedure, and
are vitally integral to the survival and definition of being human”.
This dissertation will help inform my own body of work through my MA practice and my
working methodology as a whole. As I mentioned, the inspiration from my work has always
come from nature, earth sciences, physical geology and environmental/social issues related to
these subjects. Be it urbanisation, deforestation and losing rural landscapes to ever growing
populations, weathering to erosive power of water, to rock formations and cycles of processes
which haven’ t changed since earths creation. I want to explore the notion of the cultural
divide between what C.P Snow refers to as the “two cultures” because I feel passionate about
both the sciences and the arts.
2. History
2.1 Renaissance – Art and Scientific Discovery
In the past, the reason artists chose to interpret their natural surroundings may well have been
due to a more humble approach to art, in some ways naive. However not in a derogatory
sense, simply just the fact that they knew less about the workings of nature in a scientific
sagacity and knew even less about the things they could not see. All they could see was true
to them as God’s world was to a member of the clergy and so their true world’s perceptions
were what were humble and limited. Indeed the word ‘science’ did not even exist. Depictions
of nature in early times were predominantly of crude looking animals, Landscapes as
backdrops to portraits of the wealthy and successful, narratives of past events or mythological
story telling. It wasn’t until the time of the Renaissance with great flourishing artists,
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Leonardo Da Vinci in particular, who first paved the way for a greater understanding of the
inner workings of our natural environment in a creative artistic manner, drawing upon
inspiration through intrigue and desire to understand undeniably new and mysterious
technology. He studied and drew ordinary objects and his natural surroundings with such
precision and great detail it helped, not just scientists and philosophical thinkers of the time,
but also ‘normal’ folk generate an enhanced perception of the world. His paintings and
drawings focused on the lifelike perception of dimensions which would draw the viewer into
the picture. Lifelike observational studies within the arts were a key way of communicating
and describing said objects/inventions/discoveries to the general public and scholars alike.
Leonardo was one of the first Naturalists of his day.
These were indeed the greatest days of unity between science and art as the European
Renaissance movements balanced the two disciplines aspiring to teach the ideal well-rounded
complete man. In a response to the challenge of medieval scholastic education, Renaissance
Humanism was born, which emphasized practical, pre-professional and scientific studies.
This humanism approach of the day saw no mutually exclusive polarities between the
sciences and the arts, and Leonardo's studies in science and engineering are as impressive and
innovative as his artistic work, which fuse art and science.
Velazquez, Rembrandt, Carel Fabiritius (one of Rembrandt's pupils) and Vermeer were all
great artists of the time that focussed on painting keen observations of the optically real world
eg.(Philip IV hunting Wild Boar (La Tela Real)) with the precision found in scientific
approaches to observation. Flemish painting between the 1400’s to contemporary days often
included the scientific achievements of their countrymen. Vermeer was a keen cartographer
and used this inspiration and knowledge in his works which the Flemish were known for at
the time. This was long before individuals such as William Smith would embark upon this
passion and intrigue of the natural landscape they lived on. People’s innate creative ingenuity
and intrigue into Cartography, Physical Geology and the Natural Environment would
ultimately become the sciences that would help expand our understanding of how the earth
was formed, the evolution of life and the power of ‘Mother Nature’. This spawned a new
wave of scientific discoveries which ultimately proved many relatively modern theories right
or wrong, being appreciative of the natural world is empirical to understanding the limits
mankind can exploit all it has to offer us as inhabitants.

Science was not a term used in the 14th and turn of the 15th century, instead it was
known as “Natural Philosophy” which precedes our current “Natural Science” (from
the Latin, Scientio which means “knowledge”).
2.2 Early Physical Geology (UK)
“The Map that Changed the World – A Tale of Rocks Ruin and Redemption” – Simon
Winchester
William Smith is little known today, but his love of the land and intrigue into the British
landscape would pave the way for mankind’s understanding and modern education in
geology/geography. He was born 23rd march 1769 was bought up in a time of faith and
certainty, whereby according to James Ussher’s calculations, he was born exactly 5,772
years, 4 months and 16 days after the creation of the world on the notion that the world had
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been created in God’s image 4000 years and 4 months before the birth of Christ. This was
widely believed by much of the deeply conservative religious folk of England in that day and
age, most countrymen were strong believers however this was a time when, as Simon
Winchester puts it, ‘In many ways, both great and small, the faiths and certainties of centuries
past were being edged aside, and the world was being prepared, if gently and unknowingly, to
receive the shocking news of scientific revelation.’(The Map that Changed the World –ch2
p.16)
He was the first man to successfully map out the geological landscape of Great Britain and
bring a whole new wealth of knowledge into scientific discovery that could be mapped and
proven, in turn shedding light on the lands history beneath our feet, and ultimately proving
that the existence of our lands dated far further back than was initially supposed by many in
the day. Some say he was lucky to come across this, living on a land with such conformity in
the strata and quite stark differences recognisable to any spectator. And indeed there were
many other would-be geologists of the time that had noticed the different types of strata and
their conformity within their retrospective counties. However it was him alone who first
looked in greater detail for evidence to prove his theories from observations over the whole
of the country, connecting all the counties. Making a deduction and then turning this into a
conclusion in the form of possibly the greatest masterpiece of, not only British but the
world’s, geological heritage which he finally completed in 1801. This would become one
large piece of the puzzle as to how and why our country’s land formed and would shed light
onto all other aspects of geology, not just in the UK but around the globe.
In days of old, old William Smith,
While making a canal, Sir,
Found out how the strata dipped to the east,
With a very gentle fall, Sir.
First New Red Sand and marl a-top,
With Lias on its border,
Then the Oolite and the Chalks so white
All stratified in order.
Sing, cockle-shells and oyster-banks
Sing, thunder-bolts and screw stones,
To Father Smith we owe our thanks
For the history of a few stones.
(Anniversary dinner, A. C. Ramsey, 1854)
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Above - William Smith's Geological map of Great Britain – 1815
A new era of discovery into an area yet to be explored with as much passion and ‘scientific’
awareness or recognition from the scientific community was starting to be acknowledged.
This was the dawn of Geology.
2.3 Contemporary Transition
With new technological advances in devices such as the camera obsura, it was possible for
artists to actually capture the reality they had studied so hard to interpret themselves. This
would eventually bring the arrival of the Impressionists and photography, which would
change the visual arts and consequently change the western art world.
Western art indeed embraced the logical, analytical, scientific world with open arms.
Impressionists turned away from narrative and focused on physical properties of light and
colour. Cezanne fed modern art its structure and order, Picasso the cubist utilized Einstein’s
Theory of Relativity to represent multiple vantage points simultaneously in a single painting.
Whilst surrealists like Salvador Dali would explore the power of dreams and subconscious
distorted perceptions of reality and psychological aspects of human nature.
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more
important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein
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3. Science & Art
3.1 A Divided Culture?
I am primarily interested in why the ‘two cultures’ (art and science) seem to have drifted
apart academically and culturally in recent times (scientific revolution). And whether the
divide between science and art is as big as we think it is? Can a bridge be made? One of the
largest debates on the subject has been focused around a case study made by Charles Percy
Snow called - ‘The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution’ (1959) which is about his
view on the social divide that had occurred due to the lack of insight into how governments
were to cope with the industrial and scientific revolutions concerning the populations
education, awareness, willing, opportunity or insight. Subsequently generations are now
growing up in a world where every decade will see massive advances in science and
technology and specialised disciplines will inevitably push the divide further apart.
o Social Divide (education/training/culture/mindset) UK, USA,USSR – refer to C.P.Snow’
case study
I hope to find through studying various case studies, papers and article responses on the
subject from various scholars, professors and working artists, a theory that I can be confident
of and, answer my enquiry.
Do people naturally prefer to be more of a scientist or an artist? Or are we in fact nurtured or
conditioned into having a preferential mindset?
This led me onto Legaspi’s paper on “Preferential States of the Dichotomy of Human
Nature: Art and Science” where he attempts to examine the roots of the division in western
culture presented by CP Snow’s “Two Cultures” case study in order to view their many
present day ramifications and solutions. This makes this paper essential to my research and is
particularly interesting as Legaspi is also a working artist so it is fascinating to see what he
thinks of the divide in cultures.
Legaspi goes on to query how CP Snow describes the arts and sciences as that of a
dichotomy, when in reality they are not polarities apart at all. He uses the definition of
“Dichotomy” to question whether these two cultures can be compared to one another.
Dichotomy means a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as
being opposed or extremely different, and the example in Oxford’s American English
dictionary describes it as follows, “a rigid dichotomy between science and mysticism”. This
brings to enquiry whether art is to be seen as one and the same with mysticism. “The danger
is when beliefs become overly polarized by extremists’ tendencies” (“Preferential States of
the Dichotomy of Human Nature: Art and Science”- Legaspi 2006 p2.).
It could be said that this everlasting argument about the division is more perceived than
actual and a lot of people would argue that it is healthy to have an interest in both science and
art both personally and culturally as a society.
CP Snow’s famous intellectual essay has sparked many debates over the years regarding his
portrayal of ‘the two cultures’, some critiques argued that Snow’s logic was flawed and that
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the tone of the writing was offensive and patronising to both artists and scientists. Even in
recent years his ideas still have the muscle to incite angry debate. Lord Runciman, the
president of the British Academy to the humanities and social sciences, delivered a speech in
2002, which was to celebrate 100 years since the founding of the Academy, calling for an end
to the “two cultures” divide whilst describing Charles Percy Snow as “intellectually crass,
politically naive, historically short sighted, and inept”.
(See Bizony, Piers’ – (19th Jan 2009) “The Great Divide” IET- collective inspiration).
People of opposing professions and indeed that of the general public may think of either/both
science or art as subjects of mysticism with lack of knowledge or intrigue into the, at present,
separate fields of study and indeed life. It is this which helps fuel a social divide between
academics and ‘working class’. It is this naive perception of individuals that is helping the
divide of disciplines instead of breaking them down and collaborating for a greater
understanding and informative response to enquiry. Many things in science mystify me today
even though I endeavour to understand the sciences on an intellectual level. However the two
fields can’t be truly compared against one another as the two fields are not a true dichotomy
at all. It is possible to have a wide field of interests and use the two disciplines to help
enlighten one another; it’s a danger to society as a whole to segregate the two specialisations
of art and science. The arts ignite people’s natural creativity and the use of it in industry is
primary to the success and expansion of new ideas, which is, after all, how mankind got to
where we are today.
C.P Snow recognises this problem within his case study concerning the modern educational
system of Britain and how the government went about controlling and fuelling the industrial
and scientific revolutions in turn segregating and specialising disciplines/people to churn out
individuals of a certain profession depending on what (the sciences) they felt were most
necessary for the wider community to benefit from.
The funding for the arts and humanities has been greatly reduced over the years yet the
government is happy to boost the science funding in full support of any creative scientific
theory that needs testing. It could be said that this favouritism puts more importance on
science than the arts and this in turn puts a stigma on arts and creativity as a 'hobby craft'
from an early age. I disagree and think there should me more emphasis on creativity and
cultural arts within education and society as a whole needs this funding to help it continue to
achieve a culturally happy and diverse society.
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3.2 Definition Comparison
Art is, as taken from The Concise Oxford American Dictionary (Oxford University Press.
Inc.2006);

‘an expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically to a
visual form such as a painting or sculpture producing works to be appreciated
primarily for their beauty or emotional power’.
While the definition of science states that;

‘Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systemic study of
the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation
and experiment’.
When comparing these two definitions together and putting them into the context of
Ceramics/Sculpture they clearly do not segregate one another nor are they polarities apart.
Many artistic endeavours, especially within ceramics over the thousands of years of its use,
require both a formulistic approach with sturdy rigid structural components that are time
tested through repeated experimentations similar to scientific trials along with the expressive
and imaginative ‘seat of the pants’ (Peter Hayes) approach. The working methodologies of
both disciplines intertwine the creative arts with the ‘academic’ systematic sciences and the
feeling of new discovery you get from the exploration into the material and indeed the
subjects of observation. This systematic approach of testing and experimentation usually
comes first, preparing the material before assembly, be it with pigments/oxides, grog of
varying colour, size and consistency, or the bonding of different clay bodies for best desired
result. Then the free minded ‘seat of the pants’ creativity influx transition takes place,
adopted quite naturally from one to the other in order to create the often evolving pieces from
a preliminary thought.
It is the arts that allow us to study/explore and express beyond the mundane empirical data
whilst relying on this data of knowledge to help us achieve our intended outcome, after all,
creative minds led to the discovery and command of fire, inventing the spear then the wheel,
computers and medicine. Just as importantly, it has led us to record the past and present,
through paintings, sculpture, as well as, and possibly most important of all, to imagine the
future.
Indeed many recent authors have argued the efforts of both disciplines are similar and may
influence one another. Exemplified by Max Alfert in his article called “Creativity and Merit
in Art and Science” where he states the following;
“Waddington has concluded that creative processes in art and science are virtually identical,
and Tang has indicated a close similarity between scientific discovery and musical
composition.”
He then goes onto mentions that although there are many artists, scientist and authors who
do think this way, there are also just as many within the disciplines that disagree;
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“Yet, there are others with backgrounds in science, such as Kuhn, and in art, such as Meyer,
who have expressed a belief in a basic difference between artistic and scientific activities.
Meyer’s view, briefly stated, is that artists create new works which originate entirely in the
artist’s imagination and are unique, while scientists discover in nature existing truths which
are bound to be discovered, if not by one scientist then by another. Stent however disputed
the external models in science and internal ones in art.”
You cannot deny the fact that artists create and scientists discover, however, is it not possible
for both disciplines to create and discover? I believe so. And to hint that scientists don’t use
their imagination I find hard to believe as they often have to use their imagination and
extraordinary expertise to invent new ways of observing in order for us as a human race to
see what could not be seen, and thus believed. At the same time without creativity and the
artistic imagination, such images from our natural world and worlds beyond the stars would
not be brought to light in such vivid spectacular colour and depth.
After supposedly recognising creativity’s importance to our existence, why do we still live in
a society where there is this ‘divide’ which has trickled on since the industrial/scientific
revolution? There is a steady realisation that this divide had occurred and I think that the
reason for this, relatively recently, is because governments have to make major cuts in
spending to slow the debt the country has built over the years and focus on development of
what they deem as important aspects of society. The decisions as to where these cuts are
made are decided by government officials with little thought or care to the damage cutting
back on the arts would have on the culture and indeed ‘bright ideas’ in industry of our
country. We need a modern day Renaissance of the arts and sciences. The whole debate
hinges on what and how individuals think, as mentioned, it is a possibility that the division
may be more perceived than actual. It is how we respond to the notion of a divide that is most
important. What we do to bring the two disciplines back together or indeed whether we want
them to be united at all.
3.3 Collaboration
When discussing the topic of art and science I will not be focusing on the product of these
practices for example, the significance of a piece of art work compared to Newton’s law of
relativity, but rather the creative mindset behind both entities and similarities within the
methodology. It is obvious in science that a creative mind is necessary to discover new
phenomenon in order to understand aspects that are not visually obvious. Likewise in art the
process of creating is often combined with experimentation and exploration. Legaspi’s
“Preferential States of the Dichotomy of Human Nature: Art & Science” describes the two as
follows, “Both employ keen observations, some measure of experimentation, procedure, and
are vitally integral to the survival and definition of being human”.
It is important that we see both the arts and sciences as being integral and important to the
development of a sustained healthy, productive and resourceful society, maintaining our
colourful, diverse culture concerning creativity within education, the arts, industry and even
politics. Thankfully there are like minded artists and scientists out there who recognise the
split and endeavour to bring the ‘two cultures’ back together to help one another in their
individual efforts of understanding new discoveries and communicating these effectively to
one another as well as within the wider community. The way in which artists and scientists
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are fusing their skills and interests for greater benefit to both disciplines is through
collaborative works.
Alexa Wright and Alf Linney are two such individuals whom have undertaken a study in an
effort to bring both the disciplines of art and science together to understand the benefits of
such collaborations. They point out that many contemporary scientists are interested in the
decorative or evocative qualities of art, and in using art to illustrate their work or to render it
publicly accessible (see Rob Kesseler’s collaboration below) however they state that “there
are also those who feel constrained by the allotted discipline and feel that an artist could bring
a new understanding to the ideas and processes they are working with.”(The Art and Science
of a Long-Term Collaboration - A.Wright, A.Linney).
One recent example of this kind of collaborative work between science and art is actually in
the form of dance. Wayne McGregor is an award winning British Choreographer who is
renowned for his physically testing choreography and ground-breaking collaborations across
dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. He agreed to work along-side scientist
David Kirsh from the University of California, San Diego. David was to record and take
notes of his choreography using up to eight cameras around his studio, capturing the ongoing
cognitive process taking place between the dancers, observing McGregor and his pupils
moving around through communication, multi-model manors, distributing cognition
generating a physical vocabulary in turn helping the dancers discover new movements and
complex coordination’s. Mapping the aspects of the creative mind Kirsh and McGregor hope
to get a greater understanding of the creative process, primarily focusing on the interactive
distributed creative cognition between all the dancers and recording his findings for scientific
and artistic benefit. (The Culture Show – Thursday 18th November’10). see Wayne
McGregor's collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science.
“The two disciplines share an underlying will to enhance human understanding and to extend
our experience of the world. A motivating factor at the heart of both art and science is a
desire for the pleasure of understanding something new and of communicating this to
others.”
Rob Kesseler
The progression of scientific discovery is a very complex activity which involves a lot more
than merely looking at and recording nature. However the roots of all discoveries and where
understanding can be made a lot clearer and easier to communicate is through its visual
representation. One artist who is working in collaboration with scientists to help inform both
practices goes by the name Rob Kessler. He is a Professor of Ceramic Art & Design at
Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, University of the Arts, London. From 200104 he was NESTA Fellow at Kew and was recently made a fellow of the Royal Society of
Arts and the Linnean Society. His artistic works are inspired by the natural beauty, luscious
colours and exotic forms of plant life.
With the help of microbiologists, Kessler photographs specimens of plants on a scanning
electron microscope, magnified 4500x and then using his own talents as a creative
practitioner he enhances the images using subtle layers of colour through Photoshop
software. This process brings the images to life for the viewer in a mesmerising almost three
dimensional optical illusion, providing us with a clearer mental image of the complexity these
microorganisms possess beyond our natural ability to see.
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A similar process is undertaken by collaborative works for NASA and Astronomers who
wish to give greater detail and understanding to the images of distant worlds, solar systems
and galaxies of varying physical and chemical properties.
3.4 The Mind in Question
As exemplified with McGregor and Kirsh’ collaboration (see collaboration page), science is
in fact using art to learn about the creative mind, you could say that the great artists of the
past were the world’s first neuroscientists. Exploring their own philosophical and cognitive
psychological mindsets when producing their works of art, they (artists) question perceptions
and fabricate concepts or interpretations onto canvas and into abstract sculptural forms about
the deeper inner workings of life and its many locked up mysteries. “The artist is, in a sense,
a neuroscientist, exploring the potentials and capacities of the brain, though with different
tools,” observes Semir Zeki, a neurobiologist at University College London and director of
Neuroaesthetics. Neuroaesthetics is a new scientific field that uses the tools of modern
neuroscience, like brain imaging, to unravel the mysteries of art. Unlike traditional
approaches which treat a piece of art as a product of historical and cultural forces,
neuroaesthetics looks at art “through the lens of neuroscience”. Researchers in this particular
field want to decipher the power of a great work of art (a Picasso or a Rembrandt for
example) in terms of the visual cortex and hope to reveal “the universal laws” of painting and
sculpture to find underlying principles.
Brainscape - Susan Aldworth (2010)
This new area of study came about thanks to David Hubel
and Torsten Wiesel who demonstrated that the brain is
much stranger in responding to visual stimuli than
scientists long assumed. Before their experiments in the
1950’s it was believed by many that the eye was like a
camera, and that our visual realist was composed of dots of
light, nearly arranged in time and space much like a
photograph is made up of a 2D layer of pixels. However
they demonstrated that our visual cortex in fact responds to
straight lines and angles of light, that the neurons prefer
contrast over brightness, straight edges over curves.
“Contrasts allow us to more efficiently pick out objects”,
they became the first scientists to describe what reality looks like before it has been perceived
when our mind is still creating out sense of sight. They subsequently won the Nobel Prize for
their endeavours.
Neuroaesthetics is undeniably collaboration between the sciences and the arts. Where by the
artists and their work are the subjects of inspiration for the scientists.
The duality of the human nature and thus our need to categorize and segregate is physically
mirrored in the human body. From an anterior and posterior view, the body lengthwise is
divided in half with near symmetry. We have two ears, two eyes, two arms, two legs, etc.
Encased in the skull our brain consists of two halves or hemispheres notably the right and
left. The unique creative mind surges from our partitioned brain. Scientific research
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concludes that the two hemispheres have specific regions that perform specific tasks, thus
giving us a reason to believe that biologically we contain a division between the artistic and
analytical. Listed below are some functions of the brain. The ironic divisions of labour that
our brain performs strangely harkens back to the ironic nature found in our dualities.



The right side controls the left side of the body.
Equally, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body
The right side of the brain is attributed to;
-Non verbal, creativity artistic behaviour/tasks, visual spatial relationships, intuitive
behaviours

The left side of the brain is attributed to;
-Logic, verbal, analytical behaviour/tasks, mathematical skills
Sally P Springer, George Deutsch. “Left Brain, Right Brain: Perspectives from Cognitive
Neuroscience” (Fifth Edition.: W.H. Freeman Company New York 1998)
Is it the case then that the two hemispheres are so different and specialized they work
exclusively independent of one another? Or we could view the brain as a muscle, where
artists may have simply utilized the creative side of their brain more often than people of the
academic sciences. This enquiry within the science community has been debated for many
years. Research has discovered that artists do in fact use their creative portion of the brain
more as many scientific researchers conclude that we do in fact exhibit cerebral hemisphere
dominance, but they are hesitant to assign it as the result of genetics or conditioning for
obvious reasons.
So are the hemispheres so different and specialized that they operate exclusive of the other?
Is this a case where we are predesigned genetically to have either more creative ability as
opposed to having more analytical talents and thusly naturally incline one way or the other?
Do we prefer to be more artistic or scientific or does our genetics choose for us? All these
questions remain unanswered or at least on paper. It is however commonly believed that
people are naturally inclined toward one discipline or another; it’s a common occurrence in
family contemplations where by the parent would tell their child/children where they got their
particular talent or interest from, as if they knew for sure, that being their Great Granma or
Granddad.
However these distinctions are not as polarized as commonly believed. Interestingly enough
some studies show that while the brain is active in one sphere more than another during a
specific task, both sides are involved in just about all tasks. Thusly, it provokes one to ask or
contemplate whether or not our brain itself operates as a true dichotomy or as a single
thinking machine with specialized parts.
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4. Critique of Personal Work
I am always open to new methods of practice and often they appear when least expecting
them in the transformation from the initial design concept to realising the formed outcome.
For this reason I don’t rely on my designs to dictate how I approach a particular problem and
prefer to jump straight into the process of tackling the problem or brief which I have set
myself, letting it evolve and finding solutions as I go. As put by Peter Hayes, “In practice I
go by the seat of my pants. I have always worked this way, not going by any particular rules
or methods.” (Quoted from http://www.peterhayes-ceramics.uk.com/home.asp?id=1)
However it is important to recognise that all of the process is not carried out as stated above,
for that method only comes into play after there has been significant material testing, process
testing, understanding the techniques and combinations of material for, albeit, still a
somewhat unpredictable outcome after firing nevertheless those boundaries of the unknown
have to be cut down in order to progress with the material and produce the desired results.
Understanding your material inside and out is the key to being able to experiment freely with
your working methodology when creating a piece. This initial part of the process can almost
certainly be positioned a long side scientific experimentation.
Working hands on with clay I find to be a nourishing working meditation. As an artist it is
important to be aware of, and recognise, your own state of mind whilst working because what
is created from that time may well be an interpretation of not only the intended visual
qualities but also the spontaneous which only surface at that particular moment in time
(especially when working straight from mental images). If you can recognise this as a
designer/maker then I think you can connect with your work in more ways than one giving it
more meaning to you as an individual and a greater sense of achievement once the journey is
over. I like to think the firing process encapsulates all these moments and freezes them for
eternity for others to gaze upon and get something from whether there’s something visually
appealing to the viewer or emotionally stimulating. “….work is a manifestation of a search
using a language not designed by mankind. In this way I believe I am allowed to sometimes,
momentarily glimpse the handiwork of the Universe, and in doing so take a snapshot the best
way I can." I think this is a profound statement by [Jonathon Loxley, July 2006].
The world is ever eroding and ever evolving, in a constant cycle of natural progression and
demolition, from the movement of the tectonic plates to volcano’s to the tides of our oceans
and flow of our rivers and streams. I like to think of myself as a documenter of the natural
environment and its unseen qualities that pass most of us by in everyday life. It’s bringing
nature back to the doorsteps of urban dwellers where unfortunately there is less and less
natural beauty.
“Whenever he has to turn matter into art – true expression of his feelings – he uses his hands,
in a creative performance which associates him closely to the image of the Creator. Sculpture
is the direct spawn of a man’s hands. A man who pushes his thumb in the earth to shape and
elevate it, creating new images and forms” [Quoted from MACA-Civic Museum of
Contemporary Art, Acri (Cs) Italy, on Silvio Vigliaturo’s ceramic work]
It is not entirely the outcome that I am interested in, but the process it takes in which to get
there and the journey one must go on along with the material in order to reach a unified future
goal I feel is just as important. When referring to studio one off ceramics, I like to believe
that sculpture and ceramics in general has a deeper meaning to the maker than just that of a
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means to an end. That goal may be a number of different aspects or conclusions from a piece
of work, how much have I learnt from the project? Whether that be the subject matter, my
inspirations, what I have enjoyed, the processes I have used, what I’ve learnt about myself as
an individual. Have I been able to connect with the piece in the end? Does it communicate
what I initially set out to achieve? Has the process done the piece justice or were there other
ways which may have given a better result? All of which I think are valid questions that a
designer/artist should ask themselves about their work.
I believe the reason many people continue to make within a particular premise and gain a
signature identity in their work is because they are constantly striving to answer all these
questions within their work positively. In most cases that I have come across in my research
an exploration into other artists work this style has come about naturally. One could argue
that it is just like any profession, you specialise to increase your skills and productivity in a
particular area in order to be more consistent and produce quality work, thus in turn
producing an identity and it in fact is out of the hands of the designer/maker, as an identity
comes to all who persist. This raises the question whether an individual identity within design
is always present or whether one would achieve it only after perseverance and dedication to
any given sector. I think that the longer you spend on one particular theme within your work
the more likely it is that you will establish a personal style and a style is not always present
within each individual designer as it comes with experience and knowledge, whether that
experience is recognised by the designer or not.
After reflecting on and critically analysing, ones creative practice and aspirations I now have
a clearer understanding of my own personal philosophy and design direction within my work.
Earlier on in my critique I mentioned how I would like to think that I have stripped elements
of design from my work in order to create the perception of it being more organic and natural
in its evolution. However there is a predicament that ‘stripping art of design’ is almost
impossible. When referring to design within a work methodology there is always, and has to
be, an element of design in the process of creation. Without a beginning there can be no end
or does this beg the question of there ever being a finite end or solution to a design.
I am striving for the material and process to be evident in my work – stripped of design in a
sense to make the form or surface texture look more natural and less contrived by allowing
the “piece” to evolve impulsively through exploring process.
In a similar way Peter Hayes allows his ceramic work to evolve through time giving the
impression of natural erosion by submerging his work in rivers, ponds and the sea for months
on end before returning to them. In a way, forgetting they ever existed and then finding them
once more as if for the first time once they have evolved and changed subtly and become a
part of the landscape they were in, taking something from that location. He gets his
inspiration from landscapes, beachcombing and textures which all play a part in the evolution
of his work as he attempts to achieve opposites of the rough and the smooth building up
textures and then burnishing and polishing surfaces. My work illustrates a revealing of
various opposites between smooth and textured eroded surfaces and a strong interpretation of
the earth’s strata always evident to accentuate the pieces form and contours, cutting back the
forms after bisque for clean crisp edges against the rough water eroded streams or ‘valleys’.
It is a quiet contemplation of our earth and the natural forces that shape it, as if cut from
nature with precision, capturing an event.
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Conclusion
The Arts are an important cultural tool for expressing concerns and love for the world we
occupy. Be it the natural world, keeping awareness, war, peace, disasters, taboo’s, social and
cultural awareness. We have creativity to thank for all of human kinds progress and
endeavours for it allowed us to see a brighter future with new inventions and intrigue into
areas of study that would have once been seen themselves as mysticism, wizardry or
witchcraft.
Art is a gateway into areas of thought and intrigue that (in an average everyday life) may not
have surfaced without allowing your creativity to flow through the arts, especially the
medium of ceramics. It is the inspiration for your work that you draw upon that gives you the
opportunity to expand on that intrigue with further research and indeed use of the sciences in
order to produce an effective outcome within ceramics. Although I endeavour to produce my
sculptures in a more spontaneous and evolving manner, there is always preliminary testing
and analytical observation of raw materials to ensure a desired result once fired, which is very
comparable to scientific methodologies.
Science is, for the most part, focused on altering our physical relationship with the natural
world; art is orientated more toward a philosophical and emotional understanding of that
relationship. It is the combination and collaboration of these two fields of study that produce
a greater understanding of our natural world and the unknown, just as Rob Kesseler has been
bringing to life the unseen natural world on a microbiological level using colour to enhance
pollen and seed forms which as well as being beautiful images in their own right, are also
educational and provide a deeper visual understanding to the viewer. What they both share in
common is creative thinking. As Thomas Amador Legaspi puts it, ‘Creativity gives reason a
reason to be pursued’ (Preferential States of the Dichotomy of Human Nature: Art and
Science: 2006.pg3).
Research Bibliography

C.P. Snow (1961) “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution” – Cambridge University Press,
United Kingdom.

Alex Neill and Aaron Ridley (editors) (2008) “Arguing About Art – Contemporary Philosophical
Debates – Third edition” Routledge

Fletcher, Valerie J. (2004) “Isamu Noguchi – Master Sculptor” – contributions by Dana Miller and
Bonnie Rychlak - London: Scala Publishers Ltd.

Tobin, Steve (2003) essay by Donald Kuspit “Steve Tobin’s Natural History” – Hudson Hills Press,
New York and Manchester.

Davis, Douglas (1973) “Art and the Future – a history prophecy of the collaboration between science”
London: Thames & Hudson

John G. Thomas Amador Legaspi, Artist/ Assistant Professor, Department of Fine Arts St. John’s
College, St John’s University (2006)- “Preferential States of the Dichotomy of Human Nature: Art and
Science” -The Forum on Public Policy ©
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
Lane, Peter (1983) “Studio Ceramics” – London: William Collins Sons & Co Ltd


Ede, Sian (2005) “Art and Science” - I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited - London
Hessenberg, Karin (2000) “Ceramics for gardens & landscapes” - London: A. & C. Black.

”The idea of design” edited by Victor Margolin and Richard Buchanan. - Cambridge, Mass; London :
MIT Press, (1995)

Reijnders, Anton (2005) “The ceramic process”. - London : A. & C. Black

Robison, Jim (2005) “Large-scale ceramics / Jim Robison”. - London: A. & C. Black

Bryan Sentence (2004) – “Ceramics – A world guide to Traditional Techniques” – Thames & Hudson
Ltd. London

Richter, J.-P. 1883 (reprinted 1970). “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci: Compiled and Edited from
the Original Manuscripts”. Dover Publications, New York.

Vasari, G. (B. Burroughs, ed.) (1946). “Lives of the Artists: Biographies of the Most Eminent
Architects, Painters and Sculptors of Italy”. Simon and Schuster, New York.

Craven, David, (1999) “Abstract expressionism as cultural critique: dissent during the McCarthy
period” (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.)
Journals/Websites



Alfert, Max – Leonardo, Vol 19. No. 4 (1986), pp. 323-328 “Creativity and Merit in Art and Science”
Cambridge, Mass; London :The MIT Press
Bizony, Piers – (19th Jan 2009) “The Great Divide” IET Collective Inspiration http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0901/the-great-divide-0901.cfm - accessed 20/08/2010
Richard Buchanan
(Spring 1992); “Wicked Problems in Design Thinking” Design Issues (ISSN 0747-9360) Vol 8, no 2.

Victor Papanek(Fall 1988);“The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be” -Design Issues Vol 5, no 1

Adam Welch - (2006) “Minimalism and Ceramics – The Sculptural Perplex of Brian Harper” Ceramics: Art and Perception No. 63

Maria Wojdat - November/December 2007, “Why Make”, Ceramic Review 228

Trilokesh Mukherjee Langdon, R & Cross, NC 1982 “Design or Crafts: some attempts towards
definition” - Design for Society- Milton Keynes: The Open University

Fiona MacCarthy on Deyan Sudjic’s “The Language of Things”

“Shallow Objects of Desire” The Guardian, Saturday October 18 2008

Kosmas Ballis - (2004)“The Challenge of Abstract Sculpture” Ceramics Technical No. 18
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