.jpg)
Art and science, though often perceived as distinct domains, intertwine more commonly than acknowledged. This symphony hides in the omnipresent beauty of the Fibonacci sequence. Or perhaps, it can be found in the technical theory that accompanies all forms of music and dance, owing its origins to the pattern-seeking behavior of humans. Both disciplines are intrinsic to humans as one tries to express the input we receive from the universe while the other tries to explain it. And just as inherent, is our sense of justice and the empathy that fuels it.
Social and cultural revolutions have always been accompanied by artistic pieces that complement the fight and mobilize public opinion. Be it in the form of poems, songs, films, think pieces, or… machines!
A 2016 kinetic sculpture created by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu is a seminal art installation that represents the helplessness felt by humans in the monotony of modern jobs and the sacrifice of happiness to survive. The installation, named “Can't help Myself”, consists of a robotic arm that continuously sweeps a red oily substance in a desperate attempt to contain the leak from its inner core to stay “alive”. Using a machine to describe a human experience is quite ironic but also works very effectively as humans project their emotions onto inanimate objects and machines very easily.
Similarly, the culture of working like cogs in a machine under capitalism was challenged by a 1960 performance piece, “Homage to New York” by Jean Tinguely. It is a massive contraption designed to come to life and then self-destruct in around 30 minutes. It was constructed using discarded junk including a bicycle, a piano, a bathtub, glass bottles, a go-kart, and much more. The “machine” came to life when switched on and operated in some maniacal chaos as engines whirred, bottles crashed and the piano blared. And after a short run, the contraption would start to fall apart with one of its parts even catching fire. This was dedicated to the busy bustling lives of New Yorkers and how those machines were also headed to a similar self-destructive end. This piece’s relevance is not confined to New York anymore as, now, the whole world’s got a burnout problem.
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s “Pulse Room” uses technology to materialize the sense of community we feel as we walk into a room with lights that flicker in tandem with the heartbeats of people experiencing the room. The change in flickering owed to some funny or loving interaction, or the complete darkness caused by an empty room reminds us of our existence and identity relative to the ones around us.
At a time when women's education was forbidden and the slightest sign of curiosity in “manly” fields of science and mathematics was seen as a mental sickness that, at best, resulted in an admission to a mental ward, or at worst, being burned for the accusation of practicing witchcraft, it was an act of immense bravery to dare to think and learn.
19th-century poet, Emily Dickinson, showcases exactly this resistance to societal expectations by writing more than 200 poems referencing science and biology. And while her poems don't exactly explain the concepts of thermodynamics and cosmology in the form of a nursery rhyme, her curiosity sure is a statement enough.
Margaret Cavendish is another example of an absolutely hysterical woman who had the audacity to be the writer of “The Blazing World”, one of the first science fiction novels ever written. It is a part utopian fiction, part feminist text, that tells of a lady shipwrecked on the Blazing World where she is made Empress and uses her power to ensure that it is free of war, religious division, and unfair sexual discrimination (fiction, indeed!). The loss to science is immense as so many potentially brilliant female additions to STEM were robbed from us due to societal barriers. Maybe it was Emily Dickinson, the renowned American poet, who was destined to be the inventor of the first hypodermic syringe.
Following in these footsteps, many contemporary female poets and essayists have used their words to breathe life into the numbers and facts of science. Adrienne Rich, a famous feminist poet and essayist has written many poems like “Power” and “Planetarium” that honor the brilliance of female astrophysicists and Marie Curie, expressing her own interest in the inner workings of the universe. Diane Ackerman, through her poems like “The Dawn Light”, “Planets” and “On location in the Galapagos”, gives poetic and sensuous descriptions of our planetary neighbors and explores the intersection of life and light and the rhythm of the universe.
Science and technology have always been expected to better our lives with advancements in medicine, climate-friendly alternatives, an easier standard of living, and more autonomy. But its unexpected role as a social and cultural reform, a method of pointing out the maladies and the undeniable magic of human existence, a catalyst for reflecting upon our identities, and a weapon for challenging the iron fist of authority is underappreciated, to say the least.
Comments