ART THEORY 3

PICTURING THE WILDERNESS

Major Essay; Jonathan Holmes

Sciart is an exciting exhibition of artistic creativity involving scientific methods by the talented young emerging artist Raymond Rohner. Rohner is challenging the concept that art and science are incompatible. Most scientists would consider art research to be unreliable, problematic, inconsistent and of questionable value to our society. The problem seems to be that in art there is little in the way of hard facts and figures to rely on. Measurements of the changing conditions of a specific situation are usually intangible in the world of art and results are debateable. Measurements of physical properties, such as heat or weight, are easily proven to be true or false, however measurements of such things as the appropriateness of a certain tone in a landscape are more subjective. These measurements are more related to the perception of the observer than the nature of the object being considered.

The validity of artistic research is considered by scientists to be inappropriately influenced by factors such as prejudices, emotions and previous experiences. Scientists endeavour to limit such influences in their work, however the probability of the mere observation influencing the result of an experiment should also be considered and may render calculations invalid. Consider the measuring of the temperature of a particular fluid with a thermometer. The mere act of measuring the temperature may remove heat from the fluid as some loss of heat is necessary to heat the mercury in the thermometer and could considerably influence the temperature of the fluid to be measured. Elimination of such errors in measurement may not be practical or necessary in scientific work, or can be allowed for in the results. In this way scientists consider they are measuring the true conditions of an investigation.

Raymond Rohner considers this differentiation between scientific and artistic research to be of considerable value to society and stated in his honours paper for his Batchelor of Fine Arts in painting at the University of Tasmania, "The underlying hypothesis of my Honours Year Research is that there are patterns and paradigms of scientific research which differ to these of artistic research - despite many common means and methods." 1 Rohner attempts to disentangle and free society from its preconceived ideas of the incompatibility of science and art and creates a link that allows science and art to be equal partners and produce a co-operation that is of advantage to both.

The connection between science and art in the past can be seen in the work of Leonardo da Vinci. This great artist, scientist and thinker did not differentiate between art and science. He used his scientific method to the benefit of his art. His observations were precise and methodical, and he conceptualised the world using his observations. His use of scientific measurements, perspective and the intimate observation of his subjects, including meticulous and detailed description of the structure of the body, buildings, machines, astronomy and inventions, changed the western worlds perception of the artistic viewpoint.

During scientific explorations many scientists used artists to make a 'true' record of their discoveries. These artists endeavoured to produce likenesses of previously unknown landscapes, plants and animals with an emphasis on detail and the correct recording of what they had seen. These records were needed to give an understanding of the previously unknown entities and were considered to be 'true' representations. Paul Feyerabend, in his essay Science as Art states; "Both artists and scientists, when elaborating a style, often have the notion that it amounts to a representation of the truth or 'true' reality." 2 In this sense artists on scientific explorations, while making representations of the 'wilderness', were to some extent imbuing their work with their own interpretation which was by necessity influenced by prejudices, emotions and previous experience. They did however contribute greatly to our understanding of the 'wilderness' and their influence on our thinking has carried through to the modern day.

Rohner considers Paul Feyerabend's argument that our understanding of life and reality is heavily influenced by non scientific methodology in such areas as arts, religion, philosophy and is of paramount importance in his work. His art works are translations of scientific projects. Rohner studied animal science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland, and his ability in this area is the basis of his art works. Under the name of Pigvision, Rohner has developed projects exploring the relationship between science and art. These include a World Wide Web site, an educational package and other research projects. In this unconventional way Rohner has made us reassess our attitudes and ideas on the relationship between art and science. The Hogrub is a translation by Rohner of a scientific project into a work of art. In this experiment he studied the animal behaviour of pigs rubbing against a wall panel and translated his method into an artistic endeavour. The use of artistic methods rather than scientific methods introduced a greater number of associated ideas to the work.

Rohner constructed a black wall panel 1.8 by 0.9 metres in size and applied hundreds of micro thin layers of shellac to the panel. This technique of french polishing, with each layer being sanded back to remove surface irregularities, produced a panel of high lustre and perfection. To achieve this high degree of quality a cabin sized dust cover was erected to eliminate contaminants and provide a dust-free working place. The french polished panel was mounted on a steel frame that was black powder coated at an industrial site and lined with red felt. A sensor mounted behind the panel and linked to a computer recorded the time sequence and length of the rubbing activity of the pigs.

The artistic experiment was set up in a shearing shed and to allow the pigs to adapt to the use of the panel as a rubbing instrument, an electric fence was gradually installed around the perimeter. On the fifth day, the computer began recording the pigs' rubbing activity and successfully recorded 48 hours of interaction. This sequence of records showed those periods of greatest activity of rubbings and their duration as well as periods of rest. The data showed the pigs had quite extensive periods during the night when they did not use the panels at all.

As a scientific experiment The Hogrub measurements and data would be totally unsatisfactory due to the methods used, inconsistency of information and depth of enquiry. However the experiment was to focus on the translation of a scientific project into a work of art and did not pretend to be a thorough scientific investigation. Artists such as William Hodges, who accompanied Captain Cook on a scientific expedition of exploration in the Pacific in 1773, was required to make an accurate record of the exploration for scientific purposes but was inevitably influenced by traditional methods, ideas, previous training and experience that is clearly visible in his renditions of the voyage. His translation of the scientific research became an artistic endeavour and allowed science to contribute to art and change the manner in which landscapes were viewed as artistic endeavours. Similarly The Hogrub research project uses scientific processes to produce a work of art that gives a different dimension to our vision of art.

Rohner produced three french polished panels, one of which was used in the experiment to record data. These three panels are exhibited in this exhibition Sciart. The panels have a connection with the black square in modern painting. Together they symbolise the 'grid' in artistic endeavour. The structure, the influence of mathematics and science, the association between space and time, the use of one panel to measure time sequences and the immediate connection with modernity, give this work its great artistic power. The rich, dark depth of the colour, the mirror effect of the polish and the scratched and damaged surface of the rubbed panel contribute to the connection with landscape, horizon, water and soil, and our concept and knowledge of nature and the 'wilderness'. Together these panels, the first without the final layers of shellac, the second that used in the experiment and the third an unused highly polished panel, represent the artistic knowledge gained in the experiment. The knowledge of french polishing, data gathering, processes of production, and the evaluation of the process have implications on future artistic endeavour not only for Rohner but for other artists as he has used the modern communication channels of the World Wide Web to pass on this knowledge.

Comparing this work with Rohner's latest endeavour Field of Wishes, an educational package on animal behaviour, we see considerable progress in Rohner's ability to involve others such as teachers and pupils in the artistic/scientific process and experimentation. He focuses largely on scientific methods of enquiry but introduces artistic methods as well. He emphasises the use of creativity and imagination as being just as important as the ability to analyse and reflect critically. This educational package was produced with the support of a grant from the Science and Technology Awareness Program of the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Tourism. Artistic and scientific endeavour have been linked in this package and are of benefit to both avenues of research, "contributing to our understanding of life and reality." 3

The World Wide Web site Pigvision - the interface of art and science - contains Rohner's to date completed projects. The first project, completed in 1993, is entitled Pigcircle, and considers the problem of how much pigs know about geometry. This project consisted of the exploration by pigs of geometric shapes such as circles. In 1994, The Pig's Spectral Vision was a theory Rohner devised based on the results of a project exploring how pigs see the world. In the experiment Looking through the eyes of a Pig, Rohner made measurements of nerve impulses of a pig eye using a computer to collect data. In that year Rohner first exhibited his work in public, showing the link between science and art, at the Royal Hobart Show. In 1995, the Flauto Suino project explored the sensitivity of pigs to contemporary recorder music. In 1996 followed the previously described Hogrub and finally this year Field of Wishes.

Rohner's web site gives great detail and extra information including a thirteen page bibliography list. Scientists would normally publish their findings in a scientific report, but as an artist, a web site gives a very good way of presenting work to the public in a easily accessible manner. Rohner describes the site as "An ambiguous and long-term research project. Its main goal will be nothing less than to develop the Complete Theory of Proscuitto ( Proscuitto = ham ). This will require the collaboration between artists and scientists. New knowledge, new perspectives, new methods will be generated in the interface of art and science." 4

While this may seem very adventurous on Rohner's behalf, it is an area that has been previously dismissed in the art world as worthy of much attention. Specialisation in an area brings with it the need for great knowledge of all the detail in that area, however, in doing so consequently excludes other pertinent knowledge that may shed new light on the subject. Cross-fertilisation of ideas from other disciplines can give the impetus to examine a subject with a different viewpoint and give new results leading to a better understanding and even a new set of correlations. Can the modern world afford to ignore reciprocal relationships that could open new avenues of understanding? We need to promote these relationships. We should not judge them as to whether they are necessary, objective or true. Rohner argues: "Relationships are not true or false in a logical sense. They are dynamic, mutual, ambiguous, contradictory, passionate, problematic, etc." 5

Raymond Rohner's artistic and scientific endeavour to create relationships between science and art gives this exhibition a powerful message. That message is one of enlightenment. Do not visit it with preconceived personal ideas of what science and art should be. Visit it with an open mind. Be ready to change and grow and understand that there are no divisions in nature between science and art. In Rohner's words: "Artistic knowledge is dynamic and changing, continuously creating itself out of a struggle between knowing and not knowing." 6

Bibliography and Notes:

• 1. Rohner, R. The Translation of Scientific Projects into Works of Art, Honours Paper, BfA. University of Tasmania, 1996 p1.
• 2. Feyerabend, P. Science as Art, Art & Text, 1983/84 p46.
• 3. Rohner, R. The Translation of Scientific Projects into Works of Art, Honours Paper, BfA. University of Tasmania, 1996 p1.
• 4. Rohner, R. Pigvision, www.toolshed.artschool.utas.edu.au/Pigvision/pivision.html
• 5. Rohner, R. Pigvision, www.toolshed.artschool.utas.edu.au/Pigvision/pivision.html
• 6. Rohner, R. The Translation of Scientific Projects into Works of Art, Honours Paper, BfA. University of Tasmania, 1996 p8.

• Feyerabend, P. & Maxwell, G. ed. Mind, Matter and Method, University of Minnesota, 1966.
• Leonardo da Vinci, Instituto Geografico De Agostini S.p.A. Novara, 1956.
• Rosci, M. Leonardo, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. Milano, 1976.
• Joppien, R. & Smith, B. The Art of Captain Cook's Voyages, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1988.
• Rohner, R. The Scientific Translation Of Projects Into Works of Art, BfA (Hons), 1996.
• Rohner, R. Pigvision, www.toolshed.artschool.utas.edu.au/Pigvision/pivision.html