ART AND SCIENCE: PHOTOGRAPHY
The society has lived in an uproar on what should be delegated as a work of art or science. Scientists who have created works of art complicate the whole matter by blurring the line between science and art even further. Needless to say, science and art co-exist daily.
ART AND SCIENCE CONNECTION
“Art is the queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world.” — Leonardo Da Vinci
Science is the study of an entity, and knowledge gained from the study. Art, on the other hand, is a form of expression and communication of human imagination and ideology. As art is known as creativity and imagination, science is known to be birth from creativity and imagination. Also, art is an expression or a product of scientific knowledge.
The materials used to create artistic works are created based on scientific knowledge. Aye, the pencil, brush or paints used to create artworks are created and formulated based on scientific research, experimentation, observation and measurement. Also, scientific techniques are followed to create valuable artworks. Pointillism and surrealism are examples of scientific techniques used to create artworks. Still not convinced that science and art are interconnected? Let’s discuss an artist who documented scientific progress using her artworks.
“Science and art can be distinguished by taking science as representing the domain of knowledge and art as representing the domain of freedom of artistic expression”. — Scholar Kant.
MARIANNE NORTH: THE SCIENTIST PAINTER
Marianne North is infamous for using art to document scientific progress. Although not formally trained as a painter, Marianne painted plant species in their natural habitats. This beat the general way of painting collected and preserved plant specimens.
This permitted the plants to be observed in their natural habitat. How the plants adapted to survive in different parts of the world was also observed. The scientific accuracy of Marianne’s work, even before the invention of photography, keeps it “stamped” as a scientific documentation. Now, let us discuss a craft that brought artists and scientists together.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography is a craft that is built on the collaborations of art and science. Photography is defined as the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy, especially light on a sensitive surface (such as a film or an optical sensor). Photography is from a Greek word and it means drawing with light.
Photography has been argued to be a work of science. This is because you only need an equipment and techniques used to capture a picture. Also, a camera which is the equipment used in photography was developed on the basis of chemistry and physics. In fact, photographs were initially used by archaeologists and botanists to document their works: artefacts and plant specimens.
Photography as a form of art is like an extension of painting that is used to capture the artist idea. Photographs instil an idea or emotion to their audience. And of course, you need to be intuitive and creative to be a good photographer.
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHOTOJOURNALISM
Photography can be used to send a strong message to the world on global events. Photographs are known to evoke our emotions and affect the decisions we make on underlying world issues. This picture was taken in Sudan to show the level of poverty. It got the photographer, Kelvin Carter, the Pulitzer prize in 1994.
Nick UT’s picture shows some kids and the naked girl named Phan Thi Kim Phuc, after their village in Vietnam was destroyed. Nick UT’s picture is believed to have influenced the end of Vietnam’s war in 1972. This picture revealed the truth about the brutality of war. It evoked a strong emotion that led to the removal of American troops in Vietnam.
PHOTOGRAPHY: MEMORIES
Besides photojournalism, photography is also used to create memories. Before roll films were introduced, cameras were expensive, big and only used by professional photographers. This made pictures reserved only for the rich.
However, Kodak cameras were introduced to be smaller and cheaper. This allowed ordinary people to afford to document their regular lives creating memories among loved ones.
Photography can also be used to document the wildlife, your food, social fashion and sports events.
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARKETING
Photography plays a significant role in today’s marketing. Technology has renovated marketing to reach the consumers directly especially through social media.
One of the techniques of marketing is to communicate a message. And one of the ways to communicate is through photography. Human behaviours are studied to understand the right picture which would communicate the appropriate message to sell a product. Celebrities earn a lot by using their pictures to sell a brand.
PHOTOGRAPHY AT 115GARAGE
Whether you view photography as a work of science or art, photography has come to stay. At 115garage, we use photography to:
Document our progress;
Showcase our collaborations,
Show us in action;
Preserve our memories,
and also the fun ;)
