What is your pedagogical approach when presenting a project to your students from the class?

Schaffer and Cabal describe their approach as research-based art-making, pushing the students to question what happens to their artwork as artist when it comes into contact with physics. In other words, what happensauthentically in the student’s artistic practice when new ideas from the science world come in. Their inquiry for the class is more from the art side and the student’s final piece needs to be successful as art. 

How do you balance the art and science components in the class?

Each project unit developed through the class has a substantial science content that informs and inspires studio development. The faculty meet students one-on-one for their creative practice, and assign them some reading. Critics are done by both faculty together.

What goals do you both set up for class?

On the science level, Schaffer insisted on opening the students to mathematics in a different way - “Have the students develop a sense of the boundaries of known ability and unknown ability on a cosmic scale.” SchafferOn the art side, for Cabal, the goal was to have the students inspired or reacting to a science prompt. Having advanced students with their own art practice was an important aspect of the class. “They have a continuum of studio practice that they’re bringing to the table as part of the class. We want to see that their studio practice has been augmented to contact with science.” Cabal

What outcomes are you expecting from the class that you launched? 

Cabal described the work coming out of the class as outstanding. Some students’ pieces were exhibited in one of the prestigious school’s galleries in conjunction with professional artists sharing similar art/science concerns. Another show is already being planned for the future. The class was described as the first iteration of a studio symposium with science class. “We have started an idea of a curriculum pathway that we’ll design in the science program and this class that’s called “Knowing Nature” which is a philosophical introduction to thinking about what is science.” Schaffer

Is one of your goals being able to stimulate science?

Schaffer described how young scientists visiting the class were brought to consider for the first time that their science research could be connected to their personal life experience. “When I brought astrophysicists to class the repeated thing that came out of that was that the young astrophysicists were giving these presentations but never once referenced what they actually did personally. We would spend an hour asking questions, and they would come to realize that there are actual personal narratives involved in their work as researchers that were really important.” Schaffer

Are there any disagreements in either half of the class?

With laughs, Cabal and Schaffer admitted to sometimes disagreeing and making it part of a course discussion.  “We’ll take the disagreement to the crit. Fight it out there.” For example, when asking if artists were able to contribute to science discovery through art practice or not they had a different opinion. Schaffer insisted that science follows a protocol which determines the validity of a concept as science. Cabal argued that “Artistry creates new knowledge too and this is the new knowledge that artists speak which contribute to the creation of the new knowledge in science”.

If you had free rein to do whatever you want, how would you do this class in any way or are you happy with things?

Both were satisfied with the class as it was, with possibly more funding from the school which seemed already very supportive. “I really like it, I think if we have free rein I wouldn’t change that much honestly, I would give us a dedicated space where the student could work on their work.” “We have really gotten good support from the school. They’ve funded us when we have done field trips. Schaffer. “One of the reasons that I want to teach in the class is to learn stuff.“Cabal