Over the past few days we have been talking about the relationship between science and art. For one thing, we learned that the relationship between science and art is inclusive. In fact, during the renaissance period, people often held talents in both art and science. Back then the notion of left brain and right brain did not exist, it was just seen as one big brain. And they seemed to accomplish a lot, thinking like that.
Today I learned about an explicit example of the inclusiveness of art and science: the conservation of renaissance art. Giacomo Chiari, the
guest lecturer, talked about the painstaking process of conserving a painting as well as detecting imperfections in it. I was quite surprised about how much the conservation process relied on science and technology. The conservationist have to work painstakingly hard with infrared lights and lasers to preserve the art without destroying it. I was also quite taken back by the ability of the conservation machines. For example, in Michelangelo’s famous wall fresco The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, there is no nudity. But conservationist discovered that Michelangelo’s original fresco was free of censorship. By taking minute samples of the fresco and magnifying it, one could see the layer of original plaster and original paint, as well then the ensuing plaster and paint of clothes applied onto the original to garment its nudity. After removing the subsequent layer as well as correcting its deteriorated color, the true original fresco could be seen as it had been 500 years ago. Learning from renaissance thinkers, I realized that there are no boudaries between science and art and that the two of them rely heavily on one another. I believe that there is an incredible lesson that can learned from the renaissance period and if we can attain their way of thought then we to can have a “rebirth”.
Links:
http://www.getty.edu/conservation/field_projects/vitus/
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/michelangelo/
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=516
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/doing-davinci/doing-davinci.html