The Artscience Prize

We encounter both of these subjects quite frequently in museums and galleries; they both follow an imaginative and analytical process, which underlies all creative thought. The Artscience prize used the analogy of a child’s mind, for example: confronted with a closed door, he or she may dream of what’s beyond that door and in that dream figure out how to open it, then open the door to discover. This also takes place in other minds such as an artist, scientist and creative writer. He or she may imagine and create an idea, which will eventually make a breakthrough in science or art. So this process to classify or maybe to curate can be hard to define but most frequently these processes of exploration, discovery and innovation often are more important than the actual findings. Because we teach by transmitting information in specialized forms, and within specialized environments, we tend to encourage one aspect or other of creative thinking but not both. We encourage students to learn mathematical reasoning and analytical skills in a calculus program while we encourage imaginative thinking and visualization skills in a program of creative design.

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