Most men and women don’t look like movie stars, television moms, or soap-opera divas. Fewer still have the glowing complexion of the Spartans of 300, or the dodgy, druggie look of Keanu in A Scanner Darkly. Never before have human eyes been subjected to such a feast of computer and artificially-rendered images as we are today.
How did the world of science and technology-so seldom concerned with fine art-find itself deeply immersed in art’s domain?
“There is always this image behind big science overriding the romantic artist,” said Dr. Tracey Bowen, a U of T lecturer on communication, culture and information technology. “Yet, art is as much of an inquiry as science is.”
Whether you prefer special effects derived from magnified images of micro-organisms, virtual art based on the technology employed in virtual reality, or paintings produced by programmed robots, science and art can come together in-pardon for the pun-crafty ways.
Petri dishes: fountains of liquid life
You’re probably familiar with the typical close-up photograph, but today’s artists are getting microscopically close to their subjects. Macro photography is a type of photography taken extremely close up in which the image on the film is as large as or larger than the subject really is. The objects are photographed at magnification ratios ranging from about 1:1 to about 10:1, meaning that the image can be anywhere from “life-sized” to up to ten times bigger than real life.
Peter Parks, a macro photographer based in London, photographed biological organisms to produce the bizarre special effects used in Darren Aronofsky’s 2006 film, The Fountain. Parks spent his career photographing living organisms near the bottom of the ocean, but for this film, he particularly focused on photographing chemical reactions.
After experimenting with broths of bacteria and various liquid chemicals in petri dishes, Parks produced astonishing close-ups for Aronofsky. Although the details of his chemical recipes are top-secret, his talent lies in manipulating organisms and provoking certain chemical reactions to achieve a desirable and stunning visual product.
For Aronofsky’s flick, Parks created a fungal medley consisting of yeast, curry powder and a few other things Parks keeps secret.
Toronto-based visual effects company Intelligent Creatures used Parks’ compilation of macro footage of liquid chemical reactions to create a sense of space in The Fountain. They edited Parks’ raw footage into a series of deep-space backdrops throughout the film, using a total of 234 shots of these futuristic backgrounds.
Computing a virtual vision
Unlike run-of-the-mill images of perfect, shiny and CGI women often seen selling toothpaste or cell phones, virtual art uses computer technology to create entire artificial worlds. Canadian artist Char Davies, for one, has gained international recognition for her pioneering artwork using the technology of virtual reality.
Founding director of digital animation software company Softimage, Davies’ art exploits the ability of 3-D computer technology to create interactive virtual worlds. A series of exhibits by Davies’ company, Immersence, presents virtual environments using 3-D graphics, sound that’s broadcasted to specific spaces, and real-time interactions between the guest and the art. The exhibits are based on Softimage’s software, and run on a powerful computer.
Davies’ exhibit tracks the breathing of participants using motion sensors, enabling her viewers to “drift” through translucent landscapes. Participants don a virtual-reality helmet and vest to step into these simulated worlds. Once connected, participants navigate their way through virtual worlds using their breath: when inhaling, they “rise” and when exhaling, they move downwards. A sense of virtual reality is a critical aspect to Davies’ work, producing the immersive environment and creating an experience for the entire body.
Intelligently inspired art
Modern robotics has enticed many a scientist into its fascinating world, and at least one artist. Art-making intelligence-a distant relative of artificial intelligence-is based on robotics and computer science, fused to create different pieces of artwork.
Dr. Harold Cohen, painter and computer scientist at the University of California at San Diego, has been working on the art-creating computer program AARON. This software autonomously draws and paints the abstract pictures of humans created by its programmed “imagination.” It remembers everything it does in the painting, building up a very elaborate internal representation of the image as it paints.
The software creates hundreds of art pieces within hours, some of which have sold for up to $10,000 (U.S.).
The decline and fall of the paintbrush?
Advances in science and technology, from automated machines to virtual art, have had a definite impact on the way artists work. A simple CG touch-up of a photograph is a technological fossil in comparison.
“In place of the paintbrush, there now is an electronic device mediating between the artist and their canvas.” explained Bowen.
“To me, art is chasing the idea. Science can be used to help artists chase that idea.” said Bowen.
“I think art and science have always been great together. Creativity is as much a part of science as it is of art,” said Bowen. “The whole technology and information age has created a larger wedge in our thinking process. This has allowed us to merge different disciplines together, to see what we can create from it.”
