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Professors > Artist, Scientist, Other; Other Interviews > Index
 
Artist
Professor LucyAnn Saltzman Theatre
Hobbies/Interests: Theatre and Crossword Puzzles
1. How would you define science?  
How would you define art?  
     I don’t really know how to define science.  It’s a study of how the world works, being able to analyze, quantify, and examine the world around us.   
     Art is the way we analyze what is abstract and the inner workings of life.  Things that can’t be expressed in a concrete way are communicated through art.   
     Science is something you can put your finger on, art is intuitive.   
     There is a crossover between the two, the scientist makes a leap of faith, here art helps the scientist, to develop the ability to imagine and understand something unconcrete.   
Summary of all answers to question 1 

2.  What drew you towards art?  
Why do you think scientists are drawn to their field?  
I like change and variety and having 3 or 4 jobs gives me the chance to do something different.  I enjoy teaching because I like getting to know what young people think about.  It’s important for young people to know how to write and to speak.  I have also taught painting.  Scientists have something kick off, they think “I like that.”  Certain things are easy for some people, which draws them to it   
Summary of all answers to question 2

3. What do you aim to accomplish in art?  
What do you think scientists aim to accomplish?  
My greatest dream is to write plays and see people performing the words I put together and see them come to life, I’d like more success in that.  Scientists learn more how everything works, as does the artists, but the scientist takes a different route.  
Summary of all answers to question 3 

4.  Do you think what you do is creative?  If so, how?  If not,   
why?  
Do you think science is creative? If so, how? If not, why?  
What I do is creative - but there are some practical aspects and semantics, figuring how to get printer equipment for example.  It’s creative, but with set standards to get it all together.  Science never makes discovery without a leap of faith.  The pieces get put together, like art.  Putting together words instead of chemicals and concepts - it’s a creative mixture of all acquired knowledge.   
Summary of all answers to question 4 

5.  To what degree do emotions play a role in your work if at all?  
To what degree do you think emotions play a role in science?  
Emotions are the fire that gets it rolling in art.  In science, it is the same thing, the driving force.  Persistence is sparked by emotion.  
 Summary of all answers to question 5  

6.  What is beauty?  
Do you find beauty in art?  
Do you find beauty in science?  
I remember the quote “Beauty is art, art is beauty,” but I don’t remember who said it.  Beauty is subjective, different for everyone.  When all parts fit together, there is a sense of joy, harmony, and excellence. There is definitely beauty in art.  I’m sure there is beauty in science but I can’t interpret it.   
Summary of all answers to question 6 

7.  Do you think art and science are related?  If so, how?  If not, why?   
They are related - all are a part of life.  
Summary of all answers to question 7 

8.  Which do you think plays a greater role: science in art or art in science?  
I can’t say one more than the other - science gives us great understanding and makes life better, but without art life wouldn’t be worth living.  Both are equally important.  
Summary of all answers to question 8 

9.  When you are observing nature, what thoughts come to mind?  
There is only one mind; one infinite experience in everything and for everything.  I am part of nature and it is part of me.  
 Summary of all answers to question 9  

10.  What do you consider success in your field?  
All the little victories when something works right, when a design works, when a student makes a better presentation, when i finish a personal project.  We build our lives in each day and not planning for some great something to happen in the future to enjoy each piece.  Each little thing that works right and appreciate the people in the world.  
Summary of all answers to question 10 

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Scientist
Professor Van Wyk Computer Science
Hobbies/Interests: Reading, swimming, choral singing, and of course computer science.
1.  How would you define science?  
Science is the organized search for knowledge.  
How would you define art?  
Art is the expression of something human.  
Summary of all answers to question 1 

2.  What drew you towards science?  
I was drawn to this field upon meeting my first computer.  I had the desire to make it work - I was at an impressionable age!  
Why do you think artists are drawn to their field?   
Artists are drawn to their fields because they have something to express.  
Summary of all answers to question 2

3.  What do you aim to accomplish in science?   
I try to accomplish two things - to solve practcial problems (not science but technology), and find beautiful solutions to problems.  
What do you think artists aim to accomplish?   
Artists try to find new ways to express themselves.  
Summary of all answers to question 3 

4.  Do you think what you do is creative?  If so, how?  If not,   
why?  
Science is very creative.  It requires putting things together in new ways and building on what’s already known.  
Do you think art is creative? If so, how? If not, why?   
Yes, art is creative.  Good art says something that hasn’t been said before, or it says something in a new way.   
Summary of all answers to question 4 

5.  To what degree do emotions play a role in your work if at all?   
Emotions play almost no role in science.  
To what degree do you think emotions play a role in art/?   
In art, there is more scope for expressing emotions than in science.  
Summary of all answers to question 5  

6.  What is beauty?   
I know beauty when I experience it.  I’m not sure of a definition beyond that.   
Do you find beauty in art?   
Yes, there is beauty in art.  
Do you find beauty in science?   
There is also beauty in science, there is beauty when you see it and you know it and it is the right answer.  
Summary of all answers to question 6 

7.  Do you think art and science are related?  If so, how?  If not, why?  
Sure.  For example, people have used mathematical science to understand art and mathematical patterns in music.    
Summary of all answers to question 7 

8.  Which do you think plays a greater role: science in art or art in science?  
Science in art plays a greater role because a lot of science is pedestrian, with no art in it.  An artist working with any physical medium knows its properties, even if s/he doesn’t think about them.   
Summary of all answers to question 8 

9. When you are observing nature, what thoughts come to mind?  
Nature is big and I am small.  
Summary of all answers to question 9  

10.  What do you consider success in your field?  
Success is defining the right problem and finding the right answer.   
Summary of all answers to question 10 

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Other Discipline
Professor Dutra Philosophy
Hobbies/Interests: Books, music, and sports
1.  How would you define science?  
Science attempts to understand the world especially as we sense it.  It is not an attempt to control nature.  It furthers the understanding of the world, not trying to predict it.  Science is about intellectual curiosities; an attempt to systemize the disparate facts we come to learn about the world around us.   
How would you define art?  
Art is not easily defined.  What makes a work of art?  There are many media of art: music, writing, sculpture, paint.  Common threads?  They are not primarily for pleasure, and they are not primarily aesthetically pleasing.  The artist communicates his/her view of the world.  We can learn from what both artists and scientists want to say to us.  Art does not have to be interpreted.  Both art and science are used to gain an understanding of the world (but not empirical science or mathematical science).  Essentially the artist is a scientist because of their aim to understand the world.  
Summary of all answers to question 1 

2.  Why do you think scientists are drawn to their field?  
Why do you think artists are drawn to their field?  
Ideally, scientists are drawn to their field because they are intellectually curious about the world.  Why are people drawn to art?  Pretty much the same reason as science.  Also, artists may have something to offer; some understanding that they want to share with the world.  Or, they were inspired by someone else in that field.  However, there are those who go into the fields of art and science because they want fame or money.  But the idealized reason is if people have / want a deeper understanding.  
Summary of all answers to question 2

3.  What do you think scientists aim to accomplish?  
What do you think artists aim to accomplish?  
The goals of both artists and scientists are very similar.  They want to communicate their ideas for the benefit of others, and they hope for feedback.  Artists and scientists both want to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.  
Summary of all answers to question 3 

4.  Do you think science is creative? If so, how? If not, why?  
Do you think art is creative? If so, how? If not, why?  
Both science and art are very creative.  The scientist doesn’t just record facts about life and the world and make generalizations.  Scientists create theories by accumulating facts and adding them together to make theories.  Art is a creative form of expression.  
Summary of all answers to question 4 

5.  To what degree do you think emotions play a role in art?  
To what degree do you think emotions play a role in science?  
Emotions are more of an inspiration for artists than for scientists.  Science doesn’t need to calculate to be inspired.  Emotions are more in art, and thinking is more in science.  Emotions are conveyed through art.  An emotion present in both fields is that which drives the artist/scientist to become well known, and there is also jealousy of the success of others.  
Summary of all answers to question 5  

6. What is beauty?  
Do you find beauty in art?  
Do you find beauty in science?   
     Beauty is perhaps undefinable.  What good is a definition.  Just for some examples, paintings of war are not beautiful, but they are not not great art.  I refuse to answer this question!  I don’t know how.    
     Sure there is beauty in art.  It’s like a metaphor trying to explain beauty, there aren’t enough words to go around.  Philosophy is beautiful.  Something can be beautiful without having to explain what makes it beautiful.  Beauty is in the difficulty and complexity of philosophy problems.  Interest parallels beauty, if something is interesting then it is beautiful.  
Summary of all answers to question 6 

7.  Do you think art and science are related?  If so, how?  If not, why?  
Art and science are related.  Both use symbols to convey ideas.  However, the language and symbols used in art are different from the language and symbols used in science.  If you understand art, you can learn from it.  If you understand science, you can learn from it.  
Summary of all answers to question 7 

8.  Which do you think plays a greater role: science in art or art in science?  
I don’t know.  But as an example of science in art, the works of Bach are organized and systematic.  This might mirror the world as organized.  The artist uses science for form - unless the art is abstract, form is an important part.  As for art in science, technology is an example.  There are new media to create art in, such as digital paintings.  Science makes art goal driven.    
Summary of all answers to question 8 

9.  When you are observing nature, what thoughts come to mind?   
No special thoughts in particular.  I’m usually thinking about something else when I’m outside.  Perhaps I’m thinking of the coffee I am on my way to go get!  But if I am specifically outside to meditate on nature, I think of the colors.  It’s like looking at a painting.  It is a high dependency on the sense of sight.  
Summary of all answers to question 9  

10.  What do you consider success in your field?  
Success in my field is to be established in a nice school.  I enjoy teaching, and the opportunity to talk to other people in the field of philosophy, I enjoy contributing to philosophy literature.  The non-idealistic view of success would be getting tenure at a good establishment and making money!  But for me it is more of satisfying my intellectual curiosity.  
Summary of all answers to question 10 

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