Generally, in our daily lives, one can easily notice that we are surrounded by dipoles: light or darkness, day or night, warm or cold. A conventional dipole is that of art versus science. A division which is often promoted by society – and even by educational systems- how you may either become a scientist or an artist, both notions so entirely different that each one has its own characteristics and the equation “Art -VS- Science” develops as follows:
The Scientist
The Artist
Rational thought, bases everything on thought. Practical and hands-on occupations Perceives reality truthfully, almost distantly. Down to earth. No imagination whatsoever
Bases everything on emotion, has a free sense of thought. Embraces theory, seeks inspiration. Has a surreal perspective towards reality. A daydreamer. Cultivates his/her imagination.
What happens though to those who do not see the division between the two notions, but who have decided to add them up? Can art and science co-exist? Since we were little, when we used to play in the playgrounds and watch “cartoons”, we have learnt to distinguish the two. We would overlook however how these cartoons were precisely the answer to this never-ending dipole, because animation is the most obvious and conventional merge of the two. As the years go by, one may notice that animation movies become more and more realistic, with fictional worlds presented as if they were real. The people behind such works are artists-scientists. Knowing all about computer science, they first come up with an idea of a fairy-tale- like fictional world. Then, they create it. Since they are as much daydreaming artists as they are concrete scientists, it isn’t enough to just create a world through their computers, but they need to adapt it to our reality as best as possible. What they do next, then, is that they watch very carefully what takes place in nature – first and foremost in lighting. Based on this traditionally scientific observation, they bring their ideas to life. However, a strictly realistic approach wouldn’t be enough for the creation of a fictional world. So they are challenged once more, based on their goal (instead of having a robot act like a living creature until they give real emotions to their characters), to give a touch of the *fictional* again to their creation. Then the scientist is asked to set aside their scientific data and be guided by imagination. That is when the scientist becomes an artist once more.
That’s when “Art+Science” is completed.
Based on the TED talk by Danielle Feinberg, Photography Director of PIXAR animation studios.
Translation: Niki Saridaki