Compare the scientific and artistic processes – are they really all that different? 

E. A. Cousins | October 23rd, 2016

Here’s the thing about art and science – they can both seem like lofty and intimidating endeavors to a casual observer. Many scientists incorporate elements of art in their work with field sketches and photography and others see beauty in microbes or patterns of populations across landscapes. Many artists are fascinated with nature, incorporating many of its elements into their work. Science and art can help motivate conservation efforts and citizen involvement by sharing the beauty of our natural world with the general public. Scientific art has risen in popularity over the years, with things like vintage botanical illustrations used as decoration, popping up as tattoos and wallpapers in social media. What I am interested in is the convergence of these two worlds.  The question here is, how do you get started when you are new to a field, either in science or art?

When embarking on a research project or a large scale art piece for the first time, the challenges faced are very similar. So much time, money and energy goes into the final product, it seems like the mountains you need to climb to get to the finish line are insurmountable. Many decisions go into making a large work of art, including what medium to use – such as paint, clay, or printmaking – that will best portray your subject or idea and how to approach this choice without experience is difficult. The same goes for science; when starting research you need to consider your experimental design and how best to find the answer to your question. In both fields, there’s a period of preliminary research, a startup fund, eons of time spent working, and once you finally have an end product you have to find a way to get it out into the world. The secret is, neither art nor science are as difficult as they sound if you have enough motivation and interest in your subject.

Figure 1. Incorporating science and art isn’t as difficult as it sounds!

Here is a helpful 5 step plan for a curious reader who is thinking about pursuing their interests in art and/or science:

1. First, find something you are really intrigued by and can dedicate hours at a time to staring at and researching and erasing and redoing and retrying and rethinking. Choose something that you find interesting and hasn’t been done before, or that you feel you can expand upon. 
2. Next, find your source material! The library, Wikipedia, journal articles, magazines—even right outside your door; you can start anywhere. Spend some time collecting legitimate reference materials; the work of others in your field is a reliable starting point. The more the merrier at this stage – you want to be able to go back and flip through things you already have, not stop what you are doing and start at the beginning again to find that one piece that you skimmed over and thought you wouldn’t need. Print things out, start a filing system, and get organized at the start so you won’t be kicking yourself later.
3. Once you’ve amassed a solid amount of background research, it’s time to make a plan. This is your materials and methods section. Lay out what you want to accomplish, and keep track of what you do as you go. Be open to change, however, and willing to pursue new inspiration if it fits. Here is where you spend time learning the skills you need to complete your project. If you’re going large scale, finding and applying for grants is an important component of this, but for a beginner just think about what you need for the early stages.
4. After crafting a plan of action, get to work. Dedicate your time to the creation of your finished product. These are your results!
5. A discussion of the results is the next step. Write about what your work means, why it is important, and what can come of it. Then create your introduction based on this. 

Now read these steps again, thinking about how it can apply to both worlds. Art and science both require research to prevent redundancy and support innovation. Learning new skills to produce the work you imagine is necessary in both fields, and telling other people why and how you created your final work of art or drew your conclusions from raw data is important to furthering discovery in both fields. An artistic statement really isn’t that different in purpose from the discussion section of a scientific paper. Movements in art history coincide with large social movements as the art world is intertwined with our culture. In the end, the artist and the scientist are making their work more accessible to their audiences.  A collaboration of art and science can share the beauty of nature or capture the likenesses of a species that may one day go extinct. The similarities between the two even continue beyond just the process of creating art and conducting science. There are art grants and science grants, available for start-up projects, early career scientists, and up and coming new artists. Both involve rigorous application processes for highly dedicated people. These may not be the first step for a citizen scientist or someone new to drawing, but they are important sources of funding for those farther along in their careers in either field. Be cognizant of how you are free to pursue either field, as there are no base requirements besides enthusiasm when it comes to individual exploration and learning.