Session 5.3
The underused potential of art-science collaborations: improving the balance in collaboration practices between artists and scientists can impact knowledge production
Ulrike Kuchner
University of Nottingham, UK
There is widespread optimism that collaborations between artists and scientists can develop solutions to complex problems, co-create new knowledge and contribute to (scientific, philosophical, personal etc) discovery and understanding. However, art-science pairings are often based on similar subject areas alone, and without (structured) efforts of cooperation. Embedded in their own disciplines, specialised ways of communication and knowledge exchange, such collaborations of far-removed disciplines often face difficulties in finding a true balance. In addition, for artists and scientists, the path towards meaning-making is not guided by the same principles. The artist is not bound to scientific goals or facts and there is no obligation to produce truth, which makes art-science collaborations a unique aspect within inter- and transdisciplinary research.
For scientific institutions or organisations, such collaborations are often perceived as “art in the service of science” (Roughley 2018) where outcomes of art-science collaborations are primarily seen as a means to communicate difficult scientific concepts to the public. It is rare that art becomes an acknowledged, integral ingredient in producing scientific knowledge. This is surprising given the special psychological relationship of humans with art: experiencing art can lead to new ways of understanding and meaning-making— crucial for solving the complex and “wicked” problems we are facing in the world today. With its unique blending of bottom-up processing of features with top-down contributions of memory, personality and context, experiencing art has measurable benefits and can lead to a change of a core aspect of the self (Pelowski 2017). If we experience art, new connections can emerge and reflection turns into learning (Kolb 1976). Without this human aspect, any research is incomplete.
In this paper presentation, I willI give a conceptual analysis about transdisciplinary collaborations in general and for artists and scientists in particular, explore reasons for the common disparity between anticipated involvement and outcome, and offer ways of working together. Combining insights from the ongoing academic debate and my personal experience as an astrophysicist and artist who has actively worked in art-science collaborations for the past 12 years, I found that a guided translation between the two disciplines and dedicated time and space for exploration to gain a deep level of familiarity of the history and methodology of the other discipline is vital. These can be facilitated in mediated residency programs or through co-created exhibitions. Importantly, this includes confronting ones own prejudice and biases towards the other discipline. Like for successful collaborative work within one discipline, the group of individuals trained in different fields relies on personal communication, the willingness to learn from all participants, and the ability to openly question ones own notion. The recognition that art can push aspects of scientific research forward in the same way that science can push art, reinforces the sense of involvement on a level playing field.
AExpertirience
Daniel Hoernemann
Hoernemann&Walbrodt, Germany
How can artists and scientists work together in order to foster a sustainable municipality? The artist Walbrodt and the scientist Prof. Dr. Harald Heinrichs created a prototyp as a first answer and named it AExpertierience.
Walbrodt and Heinrichs started their work 2020 with a kick-off workshop in the Samtgemeinde Wathlingen. Together with the mayor and other representatives they figured out that it would be good, if the theme “sustainability” would be more accepted by every citizen. After that Heinrichs started his research and Walbrodt visited different places in the municipality. They worked parallel, with short exchanges to reflect on what happened. In Mai 2021 they presented their findings as separate results to the workshop team. In this presentation emerged associations related between scientific knowledge, political experience and artistic perception.
In June 2021 Walbrodt will bring scientific results and social sculpturing together in a "Petersburg Hanging" (called Wathlinger Atelier) placed in the town hall of the Samtgemeinde Wathlingen. This process will be presented as a short video.