Science, Technology, Art

Catalog description

This course presents the interwoven histories of science, technology, and art starting in the late Medieval period in Europe, through the Renaissance, up to the Modern era. It explores how advances in science and technology were exploited by artists and how problems confronted by artists were often solved by scientists and technologists, to the advancement of all. Topics include the geometry of perspective, optics of image making, chemistry of pigments and dyes, and the role of computing in art. A subsidiary theme is how artists indirectly interpreted scientific discoveries (telescope views of the heavens, microscope views of the teeny, Theory of Relativity, ...). Whenever possible, the technical evidence, developments, and of course art will be presented visually in the class.