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July 1989
Hello! Welcome to the second issue of the Ion Exchange.
CONTENTS
The ideas listed below were elaborations of my initial thoughts which were outlined in the Alpha Issue. EXPERIMENTS IN ROBOTICS. Machine designed to produce predetermined sequences of brush movements. Painting machine based on seismograph which produces artwork with input from aural environment. Motorized articulated sculpture programmed to create sequence of poses — auto ballet! Machine extensions to artist's limbs.
Computers programmed to produce art work for imaginary intelligent beings with different arrangements or types of sensory organs (and ways of perceiving world). Computer system designed to record, analyze and interact with animal calls when placed in their environment.
Device which automatically translates different frequencies of electromagnetic radiation into different colours or patterns. Sculpture that changes colour in response to acidity of rainfall. Painting on road which changes colour in response to pollutants coming from car exhausts.
Micro environment which amplifies and repeats all the various noises of the immediate environment. Micro environment which gradually accelerates diurnal and annual rhythms. Micro environment which duplicates intrauterine conditions — with the appropriate body sounds, humidity, temperature etc. Micro environment that continually vibrates in response to heartbeat, breathing etc. of occupant.
Device that translates brain waves or nerve impulses into patterns. Painting on rapidly spinning cylinder — subliminal appreciation of art. Controlled electromagnetic fields acting on tiny metal spheres to create simple artificial organisms and mimic real behavioural patterns. Ultra sound beam used to activate multi-vane spindles instead of a cathode ray tube in picture screen.
Artwork at back of refrigerated glass case. Spectators have to warm glass to view artwork. Dramatic composition for oscilloscopes — one oscilloscope per character. Motorized sculpture on wheels that follows spectators using infrared sensors. Microwave chamber used to create art effects on materials put in it.
Steam operated computer. Artificial ecological system constructed using a clockwork mechanism. Sculpture made using transparent clay with light sources embedded within it. Use of electricity conducting paint so that artwork becomes a working circuit.
Osmosis used to create multicoloured sculpture with tubes containing different coloured liquids at different concentrations. Pictorial effects created using the different expansion rates of metal to enlarge or contract the imagery. Invisible sculpture made with jets of compressed air. Sound waves (music or speech) moving through heat haze in heated glass case.
Sculpture made from rapidly growing yeast. Sculpture made from multi-grafting or graft chimaera. Designs made with bacterial colonies.
Electrolysis used in the creation of artwork. Cyclical chemical processes within enclosed container. The automatic addition of chemical compounds over protracted time scale. Chemical reactions used to mimic other art forms such as sonata form.
Construction of multi-faceted insect eye to fit on video camera. Plastic membrane that fits over face and produces optical effects when moved by breathing. Helmet with video camera and sound amplifier attached. V.D.U. inside helmet.
Realistic zebra sculpture with the black and white stripes producing notes of different pitch when touched. Semi-abstract Peacocks Tail which produces a multitude of different sounds when touched in various ways. Invisible images perceived by having designs in heating wires embedded in blank panel. Designs made with holes through which air is blown.GERALD SHEPHERD
I coined the term IONISM during the middle seventies. As I am sure everyone has realized, the name refers to ionic bonding (electrovalency), where oppositely charged atoms, or groups of atoms (ions) are bound together by mutual attraction. Which I thought at the time was an apt metaphor for science—art fusion. The name came to me instantly while looking at a rough piece of plywood. The combination of prominent grain and carpenters pencil lines reminding me of both Monet's "Impression, Sunrise" and a schematic diagram of chemical structures. GERALD SHEPHERD
Fusion is an attitude of mind. Like designing machines, learning languages or writing articles, the more you do it the easier it gets. It also helps to have the attitude fostered from childhood; now I think about it, I come from a rather well-fused family. The item which sparked off this train of thought was one of Big Ed's asides in the Grand Opening issue of Ion Exchange. What, he asked, about religion? At this point, I put down I.E. and thumbed through the book I was in the middle of reviewing for my dad; "Searching for Lost Coins — explorations in Christianity and Feminism". Dad, you see, is a theologian, and when he discovered I could string words together, I was immediately down on the list of reviewers for the Expository Times (a snappy little journal of Biblical exegesis which celebrates its centenary this year). Taking "Lost Coins" as a random example of modern theology, I had a look for references to science. I sought, and I found. for a start, modern biology was cited as having altered concepts of father and motherhood; the early idea was that the father was the real progenitor — the mother was just a fertile "field" where the father sowed his "seed". Modern Psychology and Sociology come in for discussion too. The list of references at the end makes interesting reading. Immanuel Kant, Susie Orbach, Sylvia Plath, Francis of Assissi, Sophocles and Dale Spender all rubbing shoulders. It makes me suspect that Theology, like Engineering, can't really be classified conveniently as either art or science. Which is all to the good; it helps broaden the mind. For all that, though, my dad has no business at all to have overtaken me on the subject of computers. I mean, computers are machines, and I'm an engineer, right? Unfortunately, my programming skills are way back in the dinosaur age of Fortran, while he's off into the wide blue yonder of Pascal et alia. It all began when they gave him a little micro for college records. Now he's heavily into writing software for teaching Biblical Hebrew, using computer languages I haven't heard of... The moral, I suppose, is that once you start mixing disciplines, you never know where it may lead. Once the Great Divide has been crossed, all sorts of unlikely characters may come sneaking up on you, accomplishing things you never dreamed of I
ART AND SCIENCE, HOW THEY RELATE AND A TRUE FUSION OF THE TWO
At the first meeting of the Ionist Art Group on the 13th of May 1989 it was agreed that certain terms of reference might be established before the group could consider any fusion between art and science, and then what or where that fusion might be. It was also suggested that models might be used to show the relationship between the two. This paper is in five parts. The first two define art and science: starting
with how they are similar and then, how they are different. The third part
proposes some models that might be used to illustrate how art and science
might relate. The last two parts deal with how they are linked already
and then finally what might be a true fusion of art and science.
ONE Art and science can be defined by their history and the boundaries of understanding and knowledge of each field. The constant changing of the edges and the discipline's development is the basis of the discipline. If the boundary of art or science became static then it would cease to exist. The boundary is challenged and altered by artists or scientists who are driven by a desire to express either the world as they see it or their relationship to it. A new way of seeing, will give rise to a new expression and the boundary will have moved. The rate at which the boundary is expanded is dictated by human imagination. Ideas once conceived are tried out and experimentation refines the idea. Often a recent development will be the basis for a new idea. Sometimes it comes from the development of an old idea and other times the inspiration is independent of anything that has gone before. The edges of art and science are altered in relation to what has gone before. Both have a past and a new present which relates to the past. The past can also alter the understanding of the present. The future is always unknown. In both disciplines there have been great pioneers who changed the boundaries at prolific rates. Two that come to mind are Picasso and Einstein. Both art and science have practical applications. Scientific knowledge
can be used for the good (or bad) of the general public. From science,
engineers develop new technology, machines, tools and materials. New ideas
in art give rise to new designs. Graphic artists draw on art to develop
images for fashion decoration or advertisement.
TWO There are many more similarities between art and science than there are differences. The most significant difference is that of logic. Science follows logic, it is systematic and often has a target. Art does not need logic and is often dependent on its pointlessness or randomness. There are social differences between the two. Old art is very popular. The history of science is only considered when it supports a current idea or contemporary theory. Only if the forefront of science is altered radically will the history be reconsidered. Old art however, continues to be popular regardless of new developments in contemporary art. Another contemporary social difference is in the esteem in which the practitioner is held. Art is considered creative where science is not. Science is often described as difficult while art is not. A career in science is thought to be profitable and safe, art is not necessarily thought to be either. Present western culture often insists that you can either be a scientist or an artist but not both. It may be interesting to consider Leonardo da Vinci. For much of his life he painted to make a living and practised science, in secret, in his own time. The scientific knowledge gained became useful to his art. Apart from current social trends then, the major difference is that
science requires logic, in a system or in its progress towards a target.
THREE The first model that came to mind was a sphere with two points, arts and science on the surface and an infinite number of ways of linking the two. This gave no scope to reflect the various parts of each field. A ladder with one upright side representing art the other representing
science, has various points. One specific point in one field is linked
to another specific point in another field. These points can be the rungs
of the ladder, although the rungs need not necessarily be parallel. Like
nodes these points can place a restriction at the point of contact. This
model is almost satisfactory except it does not reflect the expansion of
each field nor the parts in common.
FOUR Now to look at some of the existing links or rungs of the ladder. There
are specific points in art that are directly related to a point in science
or vice versa.
a) MATERIALS AND INSTRUMENTS. Art has always been influenced by new materials available and the technology
to use materials in a new way. Here I will just list a few examples:
Musical instruments were changed dramatically by electronic digitization. New sounds can be exactly reproduced, instantaneously recorded, mixed or processed. Associated with materials are photography and holography. Both of these fields were once considered as scientific exercises but now photography and, more recently, holography are being used as an artistic medium, e.g.. MA exhibition at the Royal College of Art 1988. The arrival of photography itself, I think, Influenced art's own development.
Photography can be a real and true record and thus challenged the art world
to consider whether they are also just producing a record. This must have
contributed towards the development of modern art.
b) SUBJECT MATTER. The society in which we exist is constantly changing dramatically by technological developments based on new understanding in science. Much of this is not good, particularly when war technology (where more money is spent in development) often results in tragedy. Technology and machines were glorified by the Futurists and despised by many other movements, e.g.. Guernica by Picasso, Max Ernst's references to tanks and war. Not only is art influenced by the technology artists find in their own world, but it is also affected by the way in which they understand their world. This changes with scientific development and new discoveries. All I need do is list a few examples: Jean Arp's amoebas or cells, Sigmund Freud's effect on surreal movement. Music has been altered by our understanding of harmony and acoustics.
Science fiction is an extrapolation of the science we know now.
c) SCIENCE ILLUSTRATION. Records of birds and flowers — collected as works of art. Erazmus Darwin — The Loves of Plants. More recently New Scientist artwork has been less illustrative and more creative. Performance art including Floating Point and also the televised dance about electron "cooper pairs" to illustrate phenomena connected with superconductivity. All these examples are like rungs of a ladder from one specific point
in one discipline to another point in the other discipline.
FIVE Science is not art because it always follows logic. Stages towards fusion: 'SCIANOCHY' — Defying the logic in a scientific idea or mechanism to create art. 'LOGIKART' — To make art logical i.e.. Process Art, — the process of forms, process of using randomness or probability to develop an image in stages. TRUE FUSION IS WHEN THE SCIENCE IS AS RANDOM AND POINTLESS AS THE ART IS LOGICAL. In the ladder model, fusion might be created by twisting the ladder
through 180 degrees and joining the ends i.e.. a Moebius loop. The art
is twisted to science and the science is twisted to art.
VIRTUAL WORLDS, LUCID DREAMS. (Incomplete précis for an Essay on Science Fiction to be completed sometime soon! hopefully!!) The perception of Science as a construction of the Imagination rather than of the Intellect is perhaps the point at which a consciousness of Science as Fiction is born. The concept of Truth that separates Science and Fiction is complicated by the fact that Science itself produces a great many images. Many of these images become cultural pivots upon which a huge complex of ideas are balanced. The Earth from Space for example. The augmentation and elaboration of these images produces fiction and such fiction may take the form of cultural product or socio-political ideology. Science Fiction is not to be found merely in the narratives of novels, films, comics and computer games of the named genre but also in the conceptioning and projection of Science itself. The experimental methods of statistical measurement, control and repetition are increasingly replaced by computer simulations which model realworld processes. Scientific research is now generating a great many such model worlds. A complex system of feedback exists between Science and fictional construct. The production of The World as a true fiction has long been the utopian vision of scientific knowledge and technological control. It is the legitimacy of this goal that has been a major debate within Science Fiction. The conquest of nature as an Evolutionary Imperative forms the major thrust of Science and technology. A major staging point in this process is the conquest of Simulation. A Science of simulation becomes the simulation of Science. Intellect
and Imagination fuse. A science of the Imagination emerges. Simulation
takes over the complexities of Representation and transcends them in the
fictional construction of real worlds. Those complexities and paradoxes
become where laws in virtual worlds. Virtual Worlds are only as rich as
the algorithms which inform them. Take for example Ko Nakajima's videotape
"Mount Fuji in which the insistence upon the laws of realistic perspective
produce unreal as (virtual) realities. Or the recent Commercial on British
TV in which a monkey typing on a typewriter is digitally cloned through
Quantel Harry into a great many monkeys typing in a play on the classic
probability problem how does Order arise from Chaos? Classic problems in
Science become the structure for a whole range of graphic expositions.
An interesting area opening up is the fusion of advertising, science fiction
and cultural theory — for example in the Canadian lager "Moosehead" ad
"Drinking is believing no.2" — in which an alien visits a physicist, a
molecule model collapses. Science can be seen to produce an aesthetics.
Not necessarily as a conscious process (although developments in imaging
technologies perhaps refute this as do the sensibilities of scientists
when conceptioning scientific ideas) but certainly as a byproduct.
STATEMENT FRAGMENTS CHAIN OF LIFE Early worked out process through abandon
now controlled... . Organic and sea abstracts Rhythms,
asymmetrical, sinuous (cf. rococo and Jackson Pollock).. .Programmne of
exhibitions (and film) from 1968 PARADOXES reflecting doubt Early pictures
concerned with sea, nature, metamorphosis... .Similar patterns found in
small (microscopic) and large scale Mutability...
Chaos Inevitable change through decay and aging
Many were therapeutic, angry, violent and "evil"
Then I had a change of heart for a while.. .New pictures were idealistic..
.But still intuitive, painted with more love and joy.... Interpret. . .
. Early dormant emblems and symbols Perhaps many
have a personal mystical meaning
Motifs for me in Jungian terms EMOTIONS
IN COLOUR.. Next stage was to
consciously use these symbols as a language Rebus....
Starting point Launching
pad for paintings of 1980's Which had geometric
infra-structure
1950's: Flirtation with Pythagoras, alchemy and astrology... .Mandalas
late 1980's MACHINE ART Using duplicating equipment and
DESTRUCTIVE RUST — CREATIVE RUST As a metallurgist working in industry I have long had a professional interest in the havoc caused by the rusting reaction. We are all familiar with what could broadly be described as "wastage corrosion — it sees off our old motor cars, for example. Less familiar, but just as troublesome is the mechanical damage caused by rusting. This arises because the products of rusting, the oxide or "scale", generally occupies more volume than that provided by the metal consumed in the process. In other words an expansion takes place when metals rust and, as the rusting reaction itself releases huge amounts of energy, this volume change can deform the metal substrate or any surrounding medium (such as stone or concrete when steel reinforcement bars rust). Damage due to "expansive rusting" is not confined to modern engineering components and reinforced concrete; this type of damage is causing problems with The Parthenon, The Taj Mahal, The Brighton Pavilion, The Albert Memorial, St Paul's and Winchester Cathedrals (indeed in almost all churches), Tower Bridge, The British Museum, The Statue of Liberty — the list is endless. All this is very dreary, but we cannot say we haven't been warned: with his dying words the Buddha pointed out to his followers that all material things are subject to decay, and half a millennium later, in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ admonished his flock for laying up treasures on earth "Where moth and rust doth corrupt". But we do lay up treasures and we get very upset when decay sets in; we seem to forget that it's all to do with the inevitable consequences of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. We see evidence for the weathering of the landscape all around us and when metals rust we know they are only trying to return to their 'natural' state as they once existed as ores in the earth's crust. Yet we grumble, grumble, and Canute—like make strenuous efforts to conserve. We should remember Dryden's wise words: "All human things are subject to decay: And, when fate summons, monarchs must obey". Already we are using the word "rust" very loosely, to cover oxidation of any metal at any speed of reaction, and even to include the corrosion of stones. If this is accepted then it could also include the anodising of aluminium, the patination of bronzes and even the "burning" of a magnesium flare or firework. We are now moving into some more positive aspects of the rusting reaction and by widening the definition of rust we acknowledge the strength of so many four-letter Anglo Saxon and Germanic words — "rust" is expressive and to the point. It is a word much loved by poets as a symbol of decay, and has the huge advantage that it rhymes with dust — "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, time passes, metals rust". I have attempted to represent these various facets of Rust by a sort
of Venn diagram consisting of a number of intersecting circles. This diagram
is still evolving but in its latest version RUST occupies the central position
with ART to the left and SCIENCE to the right (Art and Science are of course
complements rather than opposites). STRENGTH and WEAKNESS occupy the extremities
of the vertical axis.
A development of artificial patination of metals was to allow the acids to etch very deeply into the metal — a form of accelerated local corrosion. This was employed in the fifteenth century with the Niello treatment of armour. In this a design was etched deeply into the base alloy and a precious metal decoration burnished into the depression. To follow the progress of their work the armourers used to fill the engraved design with ink and obtain an impression of it on paper. From these 'proofs' the design was altered and improved. This evolved into the separate art of etching and engraving by the intaglio printing process, with far reaching implications for the development of modern civilization. Patination and Etching reappear on the 'Science' side of the diagram. From very early times metals, particularly copper, have been deliberately corroded to produce useful products — pigments, inks and mordants. This conversion of one material into another probably led to the study of alchemy, the forerunner of the science of Chemistry itself. A millennium or so later it was found that if the polished surface of Damascus steel was treated with acids its constituent parts rusted at different rates, thereby revealing a pattern or 'river' markings. This was much prized as an indication of quality and its development used as a means of quality control. It led to an interest in the microstructure itself — the science of metallography was born. Rusting has also played its part in the evolution of electrical science. During the first half of the nineteenth century, before electromagnetic generators had been developed, the only source of a steady flow of electrical current for experimental purposes was the selective 'rusting' of a metal anode in a voltaic cell. It was during this period that many of the major discoveries in electrical science were made, including that of electromagnetic induction itself. Turning to the present century, the semi-conducting properties of oxides
were discovered long before the mechanism of the p-n junction was understood.
The deliberate oxidation of copper to produce copper/cuprous oxide junctions
was employed in the 1930's to manufacture commercial rectifiers. This was
the harbinger for the transistor, discovered in the late 40's and other
solid state devices which started the micro-electronic revolution, through
which we are still passing.
Printing, physical metallurgy, chemistry, electro-chemistry and electronics
al have at least in part, their origins in the deliberate rusting of metals
Oxides generally have higher melting temperatures, and hence are often
stronger, than the metals from which they form. For thin metal sections
operating at high temperatures an oxide film can provide a useful support
for their substrata. Oxides, and mixtures of oxides, are themselves finding
applications as structural materials designed for use at high temperatures.
Compiled by SHEILA CLARKE 'You know how the hopelessness in one's working will make one just take paint and just do almost anything . . to try to break the willed articulation of the image, so that the image will grow, as it were, spontaneously within its own structure and not my structure' (FRANCIS BACON)
'Intention involves such a small fragment of our consciousness and of our mind and of our life. I think a painting should include more experience than simply intended statement' (JASPER JOHNS)
'If one says, "Yes! I do not discriminate between intention and non-intention the splits, subject-object, art-life, etc. disappear, an identification has been made with the material, and actions are then those relevant to its nature' (JOHN CAGE)
'We are not, in these dances and music, saying something We are rather doing something ... Our intention is to affirm this life, not to bring order out of chaos nor to suggest improvements in creation, but simply to wake up to the very life we're living, which is so excellent once one gets one's mind and one's desires out of its way and lets it act of its own accord' (JOHN CAGE)
'It now seems to me that even striving for expression in a work of art is harmful to art. Art is an arch principle, as sublime as the godhead, as inexplicable as life, undefinable and without purpose. The work of art is created by an artistic evaluation of its elements. I know only how I do it; I know only my material, from which I derive, to what end I know not' (KURT SCHWITTERS)
ION EXCHANGE - EDITOR: GERALD SHEPHERD
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