The writings "Toward a Third Culture" and "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution" struck a very relevant chord with me. Something I have been giving much thought to recently was my own lack of arts education. In the past years I have grown more dedicated to my pursuits of health and mindfulnesses, and my path keeps finding its way back to art. Lately, I have used art as a creative outlet, a calming activity, and a source for inspiration. My late understanding into how beneficial art can be in progress and growth drove me to this question, "why didn't I learn this sooner?". As I've learned through these readings and other materials used for this lecture, the main factor is the separation of science and art into disparate fields at opposition with one another.
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| http://artofmiami.com/2012/ |
To be completely honest, until
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| http://www.universitytimes.ie/2013/10/ |
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| http://www.danpink.com/books/whole-new-mind/ |
reading Vesna's "Toward a Third Culture" I did not know there was ever a time when science and art were considered similar. I was shocked to read that the divide had its "beginnings in the Romantic Period, at the turn of the nineteenth century" (Vesna, 121). My modern education led me to believe science and art were fields as far apart as two could be. My education also engrained in my mind that
scientific knowledge was better than creative knowledge. In class, the student who performs well academically succeeds, there isn't even a metric to test a students creative abilities. Sixteen years into my education and I find myself with a wealth of knowledge but a distinct lack of creativity and artistic ability. This lack of creativity deprives my academic pursuits when I can only look for solutions in places I have been. I was taught it was because I was not a creative; I even read a book entitled "Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future" which explained how creatives will run the future but I do not control whether I am a "right-brained, creative". I am slowly unlearning this logic and utilize all aspects of my intelligence to succeed. As C.P. Snow highlighted, the future is a culture between the literary and scientific intellectuals, and that cultural bridge is art.
References:
Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. MC, Marshall Cavendish, 2012.
Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961.
Print.
Snow, C.P. The Two Cultures: And a Second Look. N.p.: n.p., 1963. Print.
Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.
Wilson, Stephen D. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings. New York, New York, 2000. Print
I liked the honesty in your blog - I too wasn't aware that there was a time when art and science were one and the same. It is cool that you've acknowledged where schooling has failed you and are striving to develop your creativity!
ReplyDeleteI like the approach you take in regards to artistic ability in this post. When taking a psychology course at UCLA, I learned that leading theories state artistic ability needs to be practiced in order to flourish in the same way that scientific information must be practice to be learned. Based on this, it makes perfect sense that a lack of education in the arts would lead you to a point where you don't have a strong sense of creativity and artistic ability. What type of art do you do now in order to work on improving your creativity and what sort of results have you seen from it?
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