became the two “hubs” Vesna envisioned. Her
own interests also fueled the center’s eventual
creation: as a media artist, the UCLA professor
often collaborated with nanoscientist and
fellow UCLA professor, Jim Gimzewski.
These two physical points on UCLA’s campus
evoke the tension and complexities at the
center of this interdisciplinary venture. The
artist and scientist inch closer towards one
another, pushing forward different concepts,
concerns, methodologies, and beliefs. The
connection promises boundary-pushing
collaborations.
The seeming separation between the two
disciplines, however, is a long-standing,
culturally fixed ideal. In her 2001 essay,
“Towards a Third Culture or Working in
Between,” Vesna traces the history of that
perceived separation. She considers the
influence of C.P. Snow, the late English chemist
and novelist who delivered the famed 1959
speech, “The Two Cultures,” at a 1959 annual
Rede Lecture at Cambridge University. Snow
lamented the division between the two cultures,
which he refers to as the “natural sciences” and
“literary intellectuals.”
In his 1963 afterword to the Rede Lecture
speech, Snow determined that a third
culture might “close the gap between literary
intellectuals and scientists.” Vesna, in turn,
aims to broaden the reach of ArtSci’s multidisciplinary aim—using the third culture as a
working standard.
“I am interested in changing curricula
structures and bringing important issues that
divide us to the forefront,” Vesna says when she
describes how the center continues to realize
this evolving third culture.
“Collaborations between artists, humanists,
and scientists are really important to make this
happen in a way that…can involve the larger
public,” Vesna continues.
Vesna provides this experience for her own
students, many of whom come from various
disciplines in the sciences, humanities, and
business studies. She teaches an introductory
survey course that explores the connections
between art, science, and technology. These
students’ course work includes visits to the
ArtSci Center. Vesna teaches high school
students using the facilities provided by the
CSNI.
Vesna's class visits the lab
36
SciArt in America February 2014