Blending science and art: An educational perspective

Abstract

Art and design education enable students to find creative and logical solutions to various design problems. The use of materials, constructive analysis, craftmanship, and originality are some key criteria in the process. Size and dimensionality, the proportion analysis, expression integrity, substantiality, and presentability can vary depending on the project and the context. As one of the methods used to provide targeted experience and learning in art and design education, interdisciplinary work presents a right ground for complex design issues. The workshop we carried out together with the Tubitak National Metrology Institution (UME) named “Art’s Metrology, Metrology’s Art” aimed to transform art, design, and science together into a product. As rational, natural, and appropriate connections can be established between art and science, students were asked to develop a method to meet the objectives and criteria of both around a certain conceptual focus. An important inclusive of the workshop was to have students observe, get informed, and engage in dialogue and ultimately increase their curiosity about a certain mechanism outside of their studies. The group dynamic in the process of creating three-dimensional and displayable works within a scheduled time was supported by a scientist from the metrology department, three art and design instructors, Konca Şaher, Nur Balkır, and Gürkan Mıhçı from Kadir Has University. The finished works were then exhibited in the Tubitak-UME in Gebze compound. This study, which blends science and art, provided students with the opportunity to experiment with a science field, and to develop their predictions about their own disciplines. The paper will present the development and the outcome of the workshop.