The Art of Science

In the Fall lessons, we have been studying patterns and symbols throughout nature and art history. We recently looked at the work of Miro and Calder, two artists that combined art and science. Miro was fascinated with Freud’s teachings about the subconscious mind and dreams which resulted in his Surrealist style of art, and Alexander Calder was fascinated by physics and engineering which he interpreted in his sculpture. We took a step further and looked at patterns that repeat in art and nature, but on a microscopic level. The development of microphotography gave access to that invisible and mysterious world. Many of the images found in Aboriginal art and work created by Contemporary Abstract artists intuitively reflect the same patterns and shapes that are on a cellular level and are universal throughout nature. We looked at a variety of patterns in nature and microscopic images, which were the inspiration for last week’s creative projects. It was both entertaining and a challenge for the class to try to guess their origin. The beauty and designs did not give away such diverse sources as a piece of thread, drops of water, bugs, and plants. The favorite was what looked like a lush forest of broccoli and turned out to be the hairs on the toes of a gecko! After the gasps and laughter subsided, the class created colorful mixed media abstract collages using colored paper, markers, and paint. I love their enthusiasm when they are free to “go for it “and use their intuition and individuality to create.