This is an extended discussion of the question that appeared in the Viewpoints department of the May/June 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

There are more ways in which a science center can be seen to be advocating a position than by just saying it outright. If you call yourself a science center, for example, your audience is likely to draw a conclusion as to where you stand in the evolution/creationism debate. The International Centre for Life leases space to a cutting-edge stem cell research lab, and however much we may hold debates on the ethics of stem cell research, by doing this we are clearly implicit supporters of the research

Ian Simmons, science communication director, International Centre for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
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IN THIS ISSUE
March/April 2012

In order to meet the challenges of the future, we must build a workforce that is skilled and knowledgeable in science, technology, engineering, and math. But a basic understanding of these subjects is not enough; we also need to cultivate creative thinking and innovation. Exploring the intersections between art and science can promote critical thinking, creativity, and imagination, while encouraging public engagement with science. In this issue, science and art museum professionals, artists, and other practitioners share examples of successful creative collaborations, as well as practical advice for navigating the crossroads between science and art.

Contents

• Desperately Seeking Innovation: Making Connections Between Art and Science, by Robert Stein
• The Common Ground of Art and Science Explorations, by Bernie Zubrowski
• Science Gallery: Creative Collisions of Art and Science, by Michael John Gorman
• Arts Inspired by Medical Science, by Meroë Candy
• An Art and Science Gallery
• Art: An Arc of Inquiry, by JD Talasek
• Bringing Art and Science Together, by Suzanne McCaffrey and Angela Seals
• The Confluence of Art, Science, and Nature, by Ned Kahn

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By Michael John Gorman
From Dimensions
March/April 2012

The explosive cocktail of art and science has been with us for millennia. We have long had individual practitioners—from Pythagoras to Steve Jobs—who defied disciplinary boundaries, but I personally think there is something very exciting going on now that makes art-science in the 21st century different. What seems to be emerging is a new generation of physical environments dedicated to nurturing “intersectionism.”

Since 2007, a number of these environments have opened around the world—including Le Laboratoire, Paris; the Art|Sci Center, Los Angeles; and Arts Santa Mònica, Barcelona. While these spaces each have their own distinct emphases, they are all examples of an emerging kind of cultural space, where science interacts with the arts and design in a conversational environment. There are, of course, earlier examples of spaces that have celebrated the intersection between art and science, including the Exploratorium, San Francisco, but the proliferation of hybrid spaces and approaches to bridging art and science in the past five years is remarkable.
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This is an extended version of an article that appeared in the March/April 2012 issue of Dimensions magazine.

Science center and museum professionals, artists, and educators from around the world share their projects, programs, exhibitions, and initiatives that combine science and art.

In our new Art of Science Gallery, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University creates four changing exhibitions each year showcasing rarely seen treasures from our own collections, works by contemporary artists, and imagery generated by Academy scientists, both past and present. Upcoming in 2012 are photographs of Academy collections by noted photographer Rosamond Purcell and photographs from VIREO, the Academy’s bird image collection.

Carolyn Belardo, senior communications manager, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia

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I begin this column with a confession of sorts. I am not a science fiction (SF) reader. And yet, I am intrigued by the recent commentary of renowned SF writer Neal Stephenson in World Policy Journal. Stephenson laments the loss today of the “techno-optimism” of science fiction’s Golden Age—from Tom Swift’s photo telephone, to radiotransporters and robots in the works of Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, to James Bond’s inventive gadgetry.

Where are those sources of imaginative innovation today? Where is the counterbalance to the apocalyptic tones of so many writers (and game designers) and the scientific skepticism and innovation risk aversion emerging in the general public?

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