Science and Art – a desirable symbiosis? (doc.schools meet arts)

From masterminds fluidly alternating between artistic work and scientific discoveries, such as Leonardo Da Vinci,  to today’s technology that can create art independently through artificial intelligence – there has always been an interplay between science and art. But how far does this connection reach and how far should we push the interaction between the two areas?

In this term’s edition of “doc.schools meet…”, we have invited four panelists from the arts and sciences to examine this fascinating intersection. Ranging from a professor of applied arts, to a researcher and artist at the Ars Electronica, to a physicist and a mathematician with artistic collaborators, our panelists will discuss questions such as

• Are there common grounds between arts and sciences?
• What should be the role of science in arts/arts in science?
• What is the value of aesthetics in art? What is the value of aesthetics in science?

Panelists

• Ruth Anderwald, University of Applied Arts Vienna
  Visual artist and professor at the Institute Zentrum Fokus Forschung (ZFF) where she also teaches theory and practice of artistic research. One of the project leaders of FWF-PEEK project Navigating Dizziness Together, the follow-up of FWF-PEEK project Dizziness–A Resource (2014-1017).
• Alessandra Gnecchi, Italian Institute for Nuclear Research, INFN
  works as a postdoctoral researcher in theoretical physics. She collaborated with artists through the Arts at CERN project to explore the holographic principle artistically.
• Ali Nikrang, Ars Electronica Futurelab
  studied computer science at JKU Linz and Composition at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. His research focuses on the interaction between humans and AI with regard to creative tasks, in particular the creation of music.
• Klemens Fellner, University of Graz
  Professor of Mathematics/Computational Sciences at the University of Graz. Besides his research, he is involved in the interdisciplinary project “the collaborative mind”, where he explores new paths in the creative processes shared by artists and scientists.

Moderation

Katharina Holzweber (VDSP) and Eva-Maria Hainzl (VSM)