Physicists or Artists?

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Physics and art, while seemingly opposite disciplines, actually have many similar qualities. Some may not see where I'm going with this, but as a physics student who loves to draw and paint; to me, it seems rather obvious that they go hand in hand with one another.

Entering university, I found it rather striking the number of physics students who are involved in some form of art, be it musical, visual or written. I can't speak for the science community as a whole, but at Manchester University at least, physics and art seem very strongly linked.

A pencil drawing of my own 😋

Whilst physics aims to be objective and factual, art is inherently subjective. However, despite these fundamental differences, both subjects involve high levels of creativity and imagination along with expert skill, and whilst their audiences may differ, both are meant to be shared.

Artists nowadays have truly mastered realism, where a big part of this, is achieving perspective. Perspective in art is allowing the image produced to appear in proportion and three-dimensional by adjusting the shape/size, and providing an illusion of depth and space to the object in question. This is inherently a scientific approach to an artistic problem.

The first known painting to use perspective was painted in 1415 by Masaccio. Whilst 1415 may seem a long time ago, relative to how long art has been around, this is a fairly recent development.

Masaccio, Tribute Money.
The lines show how the perspective is centred on Christ's head.

Another, more modern example of how science can be used within art, is South Korean artist Yunchul Kim. As stated on his own website, his works focus on 'the artistic potential of fluid dynamics, metamaterials (photonic crystals) and especially on the context of magnetohydrodynamics.'

Yunchul Kim, Triaxial Pillars.

His use of physics and science within his work is not only allowing art to be advanced; incorporating electromagnetics into something visual, but it also allows science to be shared. Viewers of his art will be left with an insight into physics and the workings of electromagnetics. This is equally important, as it engages people who may not have a particular interest in science and technology, to learn more about the subject. This is equally true for scientists, who for potentially the first time, may begin to see the artistic value of their discipline.



American artist Jim Sanborn's work is another example of science and art being used in conjunction. His piece Terrestial Physics is a sculpture which includes a full-scale working particle accelerator!

Jim Sanborn, Terrestial Physics.

Work such as Sanborn's is a beautiful example of how science can be made more accessible through art. By showcasing scientific advances such as a particle accelerator, it allows non-scientists to get involved, and to gain something from an area they might not normally engage with.



My view on the relationship I've talked about, is that it originates from the individual desires of each subject. Science aims to share knowledge about the world around us, and what better way to do so than through a form of art, which is accessible to everyone. Art on the other hand is constantly evolving and with exciting new advances in technology, come new and interesting opportunities for artists to take advantage of.
I believe art and science will long be entwined with one another and I'm excited to see how they develop together as each one makes advances of their own!


For Yunchul Kim's work, see his website https://yunchulkim.net
For Jim Sanborns's work, see his website http://jimsanborn.net

Stay Spacey,

Beck

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