I Art My Science
I Art my Science is a project which aims to capture the identity of the Graduate School of Life Sciences (GSLS) of Utrecht University and to showcase its diversity through visual art.
Extended deadline 2nd edition
The deadline for the open call for the second edition Exploration and Patterns is extended until the first of July 2022. Click on the box How to submit your artwork to become our next artist!
Are you passionate about science and do you find beauty in it? Can you be inspired to look at your research from an artistic point of view?
Then keep on reading to find out how you can be part of this exciting new project on the intersection between art and science!
Theme of the 2nd edition of I Art My Science
Have you been exploring and messing around in science? Can you discover patterns in the progression of your research?
If you said yes to any of the questions above, that is great news! Researchers at Northwestern University found a pattern in common between the career of successful artists, film directors, and scientists (1). An analysis of this pattern using AI shows the following: it starts with a period of exploration and ‘messing around’, trying different styles and topics to find out what you can do/make. The second period is exploitation, focusing on a narrow area that works. The period of exploration followed by exploitation sets artists and scientists up for a ‘hot streak’: a burst of high impact works made in close succession.
Although exploration is considered a risk because it might not lead anywhere,
it increases the likelihood of stumbling upon a great idea.
- Dashun Wang, Professor, Northwestern University
With this open call, we want to artistically capture exploration and patterns. What does exploring and ‘messing around’ look like in your research? What pattern(s) do you see as you evolve in science?
The project
I Art my Science is a project which aims to capture the identity of the Graduate School of Life Sciences (GSLS) of Utrecht University and to showcase its diversity through visual art.
With its 17 Master’s programmes and 15 PhD programmes, the GSLS has over 3,000 members who are involved in research projects within the faculties of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Science. Innovation, inclusion and interdisciplinarity are the core values that drive the school in its mission to build bridges, improve life and address big issues that are relevant to society as a whole.
Art and science have more in common than you might initially think. Science is not only precise and systematic. Like art, it is also about creativity, courage and being prepared for the long haul. They rely on asking and examining questions about the world around us from a unique point of view. Insisting and persevering are crucial qualities for the progression of both. We want to use this common ground to build a bridge between art and science in order to look at our research from a fresh perspective. To highlight the diversity in themes, orders of magnitude and our approaches towards them. Most importantly, we want people from different faculties and disciplines to come together, surprise and inspire each other. To make you feel appreciated and connected.
The common foundation of science and art is human creativity, and their goals are all to pursue the universalism of the truth.
- Tsung-Dao Lee
Download our poster by clicking here (pdf).
A limited collection of pieces will be featured in an exhibition and selected pieces will be used in various ways to update the visual identity of the GSLS. Take this opportunity to gain inspiration, sense of belonging, outreach and visibility within the GSLS community by looking at your science in a fun and creative way.
Inspiration: You get to look at your science and research with fresh eyes in a fun and creative way and break out of the routine in which you normally conduct science.
Belongingness: You take part in a project that aims to create a sense of unity between the members of the GSLS by breaking the boundaries between different faculties, disciplines and research fields.
Outreach: You get an opportunity to become an exhibited artist and place your science in the spotlight, sharing your passion with a broader audience during an event.
Visibility: You get an opportunity to actively contribute to the renewal of the GSLS’s visual identity.
- The deadline for submissions is 12th of June 2022
- Download and fill out this form in English in which you will be asked:
- Your contact details
- Which Master’s or PhD programme you are affiliated with (if applicable)
- Your field of research
- Title of your artwork(s)
- Art form of submitted artwork
- Short abstract: a little information about the general context of your research and how this art piece ties in with it and with the themes of the project
- To grant the GSLS all rights to use the artwork during the exhibition and for its digital presence and any potential promotional products that it may wish to create.
- Submitted pieces should be of high resolution in order to support eventual printing in a large format.
- You are kindly requested to send us your submissions exclusively via WeTransfer to iartmyscience@umcutrecht.nl. This will allow the transfer of larger files and will make it easy for us to gather all submissions.
Your submission should include:- A completely filled-out submission form (save the form with your surname and first name in the filename)
- Max 3 submitted pieces
In case your artwork is not digital (such as a painting or a 3D object), send us a picture of it and if it makes the selection, we will arrange for it to be picked up for the exhibition.
- https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/170966/embryo-picture-claims-spot-scientific-images/
- https://theconversation.com/of-microbes-and-machines-how-art-and-science-fuse-in-bio-art-68574
- https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/bio-art-microbes-and-machines/index.html
- https://www.iloboyou.com/pipaluk-lake-glass-art-sculptures/
- https://www.metropolism.com/nl/features/37313_bio_art_essay
- https://waag.org/en
- https://www.olphaertdenotter.com/copy-of-nightshade-series
- http://www.eeb1.com/app/uploads/2019/05/Catalogue_REA10_Art-Science_01.pdf
- https://theconversation.com/visualising-viruses-how-art-and-science-can-flourish-together-106807
- https://www.botanicalartandartists.com/about-maria-sibylla-merian.html
- https://fabianoefner.com/natures-drawings/#ms-156
- https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/06/hitchhikers-dillon-marsh/
- https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/03/alison-pollack-mushrooms/
- https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/10/multi-shot-images-of-birds-by-xavi-bou/
- https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/07/microsculpture-by-levon-biss/
- https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/02/embroidered-self-portraits-by-juana-gomez/
- https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/01/ecuadorian-fungi/
- https://www.science.org/content/article/scientist-or-artist-how-i-realized-i-don-t-have-choose
Contact
If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to send us an email at iartmyscience@umcutrecht.nl.
IAMS Building Bridges exhibition
We are honored to announce that the artworks of the first edition of IAMS themed ‘building bridges’ will be exhibited in the Living Lab of the University Library at Utrecht Science Park. Feel free to visit the library to get inspired by the artworks of your fellow GSLS-members.