January 15, 2019

Roughly Three Dollars

Roughly three dollars,
All you need to create Science.

1. A pad of paper.
2. A pencil.
3. Keen observation, exhaustive record taking, and
    An ability to rigorously formulate
    And comparatively test
    Observed patterns to see what is consistently true.

Example: Use a pencil to study the shape of snow.

Roughly three dollars,
All you need to create Art

1. A pad of paper.
2,. A pencil.
3. Keen observation, consistent practice, and
    An ability to rigorously imagine and feed this,
    Through the act of making,
    The full impact on us of what is perceived.

Example: Use a pencil to study the shape of snow.

1 Comments:

Blogger The Other Front said...

I've spent too much time hunting around for the right illustrative item, but this strongly puts me in mind of the pre-photographic age of scientific inquiry, when a naturalist was expected to collect samples, observe them, and (often) draw them. Some of this work, e.g. Audubon's, easily crosses the line from draftsmanship or documentation to fine art.

Some years ago I walked through the Natural History Museum in Paris, which is a visual feast, but also itself a preserved specimen of another time. The list of eminent men, engraved on a wall near the entrance, concludes in the year 1914.

It wasn't just the war that killed these places, it was also the emerging art of photography. One of the pioneers in this field was the estimable Anna Atkins (examples of her work here), who is believed to be the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographs.

She really is the transitional figure here - her prior work included doing engravings for Lamarck's book on shells, and Lamarck's statue, as every schoolchild knows, stands just outside the museum.

January 15, 2019 at 11:47 PM  

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