Art and science are not separated by misunderstandings or ignorance, they are separated by definition
writes Bryan Appleyard in Literary Review
In his review of Colliding Worlds in the Literary Review, Bryan Appleyard clearly states his position regarding my theme that art and science will fuse. He writes, “Perhaps the problem is that the very idea of some kind of art-science fusion is incoherent. Art and science are not separated by misunderstandings or ignorance, they are separated by definition.” In short his opinion is that art is art and science is science and that’s that. With this closed mindset his undeservedly scathing review of my book becomes understandable.
In Colliding Worlds I argue at great length with many examples that this fusion is already occurring. Artsci is a burgeoning movement supported by impressive centres such as Ars Electronica, in Linz, Austria, Le Laboratoire, in Paris, Science Gallery, in Dublin, and ZKM, in Karlsruhe, with more centres coming on line around the world. As Peter Weibel the CEO of ZKM put it, “Today art is an offspring of science and technology.” This is extraordinary – cutting-edge art is driven by cutting-edge science and technology.
Views such as Appleyard’s have become rather quaint.
Here is what he says: The Two Cultures: As Divided As Ever