5:15 PM - 7:15 PM
[U06-P09] “The Stairway of Perception” – Introduction to the Laboratory of A&S Transdisciplinary Research (Faculty of Ocean Science and Technology, Kobe University)
Keywords:transdisciplinary rersearch, art and science synergy, A&S, planetary science
A digital art piece exhibited at the annual The Art of Planetary Science 2025 event is discussed in this study to provide a simple and easy-to-understand example of an art and science (A&S, or sciart) transdisciplinary synthesis. Through visual metaphors and symbolizing values, the artwork uses a scientific example, specifically the study of Martian ”canals”, one of the commonly known chapters of planetary science, to reflect a more general topic: the evolution in our way of understanding a scientific problem (challenge) by the evolvement of science itself (e.g., the changing view about Martian surface features influenced by the appearance of new theories, and the development of scientific instrumentation). By introducing the steps in the recognition of the Martian surface features (from the suspected canals to the impact craters) via the key scientific studies in chronological order, the artwork refers to the way how art and/or science serve(d) as a fundamental category(ies) for observing, understanding, and interpreting our surroundings, and repeating it again and again in the light of our new degree of perception. Unintentionally, it may also symbolize the separation of the coexisting art and science-based, human perception-biased observation and creative interpretation (the Martian ”canals”) with a specialized, objective, on-site instrument-provided data-based scientific interpretation (the “on-site” image of Mariner 4 and its analysis). The introduced piece represents a small and simple example among the known art and science initiatives. Still, it may serve as an essential step to establish laboratories in (Japanese) universities, focusing on art and science collaboration in synthetic research.