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Grade 9 Science
Mark Dion

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"Science and art are similar: in both subjects, it's extremely important to ask questions, solve problems, and think about different possible outcomes. Scientists and artists can work together to gather the world's attention to the environmental issues humans are causing that cannot be easily undone."
-Holly, grade-9 science student
"My art asks you to think about both nature and sculpture not as objects but as processes."
-Mark Dion
W hy don't they take away the dead logs? What makes an ecosystem sustainable?
As a science teacher, I am very fortunate that our school is situated next to a woodlot, an outdoor classroom just steps away from the blackboard, PowerPoint screens, and textbooks of our indoor classroom. On a visit to this woodland ecosystem, my grade-9 science students paused to consider a large dead tree that had been cut down and left by the pathway. One student asked why the city didn't remove the decaying tree. It was dead, so why not get rid of it? This question prompted a new lesson.
How can artists and scientists work together to better understand the natural world?
I love to get my science students to look at the natural world in an interdisciplinary way, a creative way. I want them to think beyond textbook illustrations and scientific diagrams and to be able to ask big questions about the world around them. Though the aforementioned student didn't realize it at the time, his was one of those big questions, which opened up a discussion that would bring about another exploration of how the work of artists and scientists can converge and inform each other.

The Science: Our grade-9 study of ecology investigates the sustainability of ecosystems. We look at the ecological roles of different organisms-producers, consumers, decomposers, and scavengers-and consider the importance of each role in keeping an ecosystem balanced and healthy. And there's nothing better than a dead log to show how everything in nature plays an important role.

Fallen and decaying trees can provide the nutrients and resources that germinating seeds and small seedlings need to grow, sometimes in greater abundance than the forest floor. Other small organisms also find shelter and food on and underneath these dead logs. Dead trees are the nurseries of the forest, thus they are called .

The Art: Mark Dion explored the vital and intriguing role of a nurse log in his installation, Neukom Vivarium. For this work, which presented a reversal of my class's expedition to the woodlot, Dion moved a dead tree indoors, to create an experiment in sustainability. I showed my class the Art in the Twenty-First Century Season 4 segment, " Ecology," in which Dion took a sixty-foot, fallen hemlock out of the forest and into a museum in the heart of Seattle. We considered how and why he enlists the help of scientists to create an artwork.

Some of the guiding questions included:

What does Dion mean when he says, "That's the excitement of this piece: Once it is finished, it is just started"?

What will be needed to sustain this nurse log?

What kinds of scientists were working on this project? What did they do?

How do artists and scientists work together on this project?

What do you think Mark Dion wants to learn with this experiment?

What might the public who visit the Vivarium learn about ecology?

How is the Vivarium an artwork? How is it a science experiment?

Back to the woods
An interesting conversation ensued. Students disputed whether the log was an artwork. Some felt that Mark Dion is more of a scientist than an artist. Some felt that the work was more of a science experiment. Everyone agreed that the artwork was definitely science and that much could be learned from it.
Is Dion's Vivarium a sustainable ecosystem?
My class headed back into the woods to take a closer look at the nurse log. We peeked underneath it, finding sowbugs, worms, and salamanders. We examined small saplings growing from the top and shelf fungus and mushrooms clinging to the sides, breaking down the wood. We talked about the roles of decomposers, producers, and consumers that live in and around the log. We talked about balance in nature and the impact that we, as humans, can have on this balance. Our woods are home to an endangered species, the Jefferson Salamander, and though we did not find this species, we did unearth its cousin, a red-backed salamander. The students wondered why one salamander could be endangered while another still thrived under the log. What is required to sustain a healthy balance for all organisms?
Science through a contemporary art lens
Back in the classroom, the students worked collaboratively to create large posters outlining all the components that Dion's Vivarium would need in order to function as a sustainable ecosystem. They researched the biotic components: what organisms would live on the decaying hemlock tree? They drew food webs based on the organisms that would be found on a nurse log. They also considered the abiotic (nonliving) factors that would need to be in balance: temperature, water, sunlight. What did Dion have to do to maintain these factors in the Vivarium? How much would humans have to do, in place of what nature would have done in the forest? Is this process sustainable?

Mark Dion's work opened a door to rich conversations and to a better understanding of what it means for an ecosystem to be sustainable. My students were challenged to think critically and to ask questions, not just about whether the Neukom Vivarium is an artwork or a scientific experiment but also about the positive and negative impacts that humans can have on ecosystems.

Our next step in the unit was to create an aquatic ecosystem in our classroom, which we would monitor over a month. Using large jars, students created mini aquariums called "eco-bottles," each containing only a snail, a fish, and an aquatic plant and intended to be self-sustaining. Without human input, would it be a sustainable ecosystem?
"Artists can also work with scientists to get across an important message about almost anything...The job of a contemporary artist involved in science is usually to convey a message in a meaningful way and help people-who might have a hard time understanding a long lecture with long words-to understand what is happening. And it really does help and make you see and feel things that you wouldn't have felt before, and it takes you into the topic and makes it so real, and makes you really a part of it."
As one class set up their eco-bottles, a student turned to me and asked, "Ms. Fitz, is this going to be an artwork?" And so began another lesson...
Art21 artists and videos that bring art and science together: Learning Goals:
-Thomas, grade-9 student
Resources: All images courtesy of the author.

Students will understand the biotic and abiotic components that work together to make an ecosystem sustainable.

Students will connect the work of artists and the work of scientists, and the ways artists and scientists can work together and inform each other's work.

Students will explore the impacts-both positive and negative-that humans can have on natural ecosystems.

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Decay: Ecology of a Nurse Log | Art21 Magazine

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"Science and art are similar: in both subjects, it's extremely important to ask questions, solve problems, and think about different possible outcomes. Scientists and artists can work together to gather the world's attention to the environmental issues humans are causing that cannot be easily undone."

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Grade 9 Science - Investigation and experimentation, chemical reactions
Leonardo Drew, Esther Solondz

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"Artists and scientists alike begin their working projects and processes with a question-an inquiry. They are located within and asking questions of the same world. Processes and final manifestations of the work can differ greatly, yet goals may be parallel."
-Beth Carruthers, 2006
"[Like] a scientist, an artist uses experimentation to think of different ways to make art. [In ninth-grade science class] we used different methods to make a picture with rust, [in] the same way [that] artists use different methods to make art."
-Avi, student

A s a high-school science teacher, I often am met with bewilderment when I introduce contemporary art into my classroom. My students usually humor me long enough to have some fun while learning and to see that art and science have a lot in common. Artists and scientists work in similar ways: asking questions, setting goals, testing, trying, failing, trying again, always learning, always asking more questions.

So we begin with a question. Real science always does.
Why is Mars red?
My grade-9 applied science class is currently studying the exploration of space. We have looked at the solar system and how space missions have helped scientists begin to answer the multitude of questions about what lies beyond our planet. My class has been taking a close look at Mars and why humans want to go there. We have looked at the missions and rovers that have gathered data and images to help us better understand the red planet. Another unit of study we have this year is chemistry: elements, compounds, and chemical reactions. Rather than separate the two units, I am integrating them, and so we are looking at the chemistry of Mars.

So why is Martian soil red? My students didn't take long to reach the answer: rust. We spent a little more time learning about the chemistry behind it: iron combines with oxygen to make iron oxide, two elements combine to create a compound, a chemical reaction takes place, and the color changes. Reactants lead to products, which lead to chemical changes. We learned the chemistry; now let's do it!
How do artists and scientists work in similar ways?
My students didn't just make rust; they created artworks from rust. In the process, they learned about investigation and how both artists and scientists work: through trial and error, analyze your process, and make it better.
Investigation: Leonardo Drew
We watched the Art in the Twenty-First Century Season 7 segment, Investigation, in which Leonardo Drew transforms raw materials through natural (and scientific) processes such as decay, oxidation, and exposure to weather. We discussed how Drew works like a scientist: improving on his previous work, experimenting with processes, making the next piece better and different.

Some of the guiding questions included:

What did you like about Leonardo Drew's sculptures?

What do you think about the way he makes art?

How does he use investigation in his work?

How does he experiment when creating a piece?

In what ways is Leonardo Drew like a scientist in his work?

If he were to visit our classroom, what would you ask him?

Leonardo Drew liked to ask, "What if...?" Consider our project. Ask a "What if..." question about your project and what you could do to change your process. What will you do differently on your next trial?

Using Science to Create Art
Esther Solondz is an artist interested in science and scientists. I came across her work when I was looking for ideas for my class's study of the chemical process of oxidation and creating rust. Her work was a fabulous application of the rusting process. In her project The Evolution of Darwin (2008), Solondz creates portraits of scientists such as Charles Darwin and Marie Curie using rust. I adapted her process for my class (see the steps below) and had students use this chemical reaction to make their artworks.
The Process (Procedure)
Their task was to create an image representing something they learned about Mars, using the chemical reaction that creates rust (2Fe + O2 → 2FeO). We learned how a salt-water solution accelerates the oxidation process and connected that to the fact that the water on Mars would have been mostly salty. This would help to create the reddish-colored soil that we see in the images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover and other missions.

Like a scientist, an artist uses experimentation to think of different ways to make art

First, the students soaked unbleached cotton fabric in a salt-water solution, created with table salt and tap water in proportions determined by the students. Then the fabric pieces were wrung out and placed in the bottom of a small tray (being in a science lab, we used dissection trays). Using fine iron filings and tools found in the science room (such as a scoopula or pipette), the students created images by sprinkling the filings onto the wet fabric and pushing the filings around. The salt-water solution made the iron filings stick to the fabric as they drew images that related to Mars and space travel. As a science teacher, I have easy access to iron filings through chemical suppliers, but steel wool would work as well, for teachers who might not be able to find iron filings. Some of my students plan to follow Esther Solondz's example and use steel wool in their next trial.

We carefully added salt-water solution to the trays to immerse the cotton and iron. Sometimes the iron floated off the fabric, a problem for the students to solve in their next attempts. To change the intensity of the rust color, the students decided how long to leave their pieces in the solution. In subsequent trials, to see how the oxidation process was affected, some students chose to vary the time in the salt-water bath or to change the concentration of the salt solution.
Experimentation
"[After] seven years of just experimenting, this piece came out: Number 8. It was made of all the failures, or at least what I perceived as failures. If you have a Number 8, then that means 1 to 7 are no longer there; they are all a part of Number 8. "

-Leonardo Drew

My students spent a week experimenting, making observations, identifying what was working and what wasn't working, and looking for ways to improve the process. They documented their successes and failures on their online portfolios (we use SesameSnap), adding photographs and reflections at each step in the process. They were artists and scientists at the same time. Lots of good scientific-and artistic-questions came up:

How can we get a darker color?

How can we stop the iron filings from floating away or smudging?

How can we make finer lines?

What do we do if the water dries up?

How salty does the water need to be?

How long should we leave it in the salt-water solution to get the best image?

A great discussion followed, about how artists must get frustrated when their experiments don't work. We discussed how both artists and scientists meet with failure and use those opportunities to learn. The students did a second trial, changing one or more variables to see how their images changed. Some of their modifications worked, and some didn't, but they all learned a lot about science and art and investigation.

My young scientist-artists are now working on their third trial. They are putting their new ideas to work, trying to get just the right effect. They don't want to stop there, however. They plan to visit the grade-12 visual-art class, to teach those students the process and the science. An interdisciplinary collaboration lies ahead!
Learning Goals:

Students will make connections between exploration, investigation, and creation.

Students will assess the creation and use of a chemical compound.

Students will see different ways evidence can be used by various modes of thinking.

Resources:
Wyckoff, Mick. " Art as Science Project: The Evolution of Charles Darwin by Esther Solondz." Evolution: Education and Outreach 1, no. 2 (April 2008): 210-22. Accessed April 28, 2017.

Carruthers, Beth. " Mapping the Terrain of Contemporary EcoArt Practice and Collaboration," Art in Ecology: A Think Tank on Arts and Sustainability, Vancouver, British Columbia, April 2006. Accessed April 28, 2017.

Investigation. Art in the Twenty-First Century, Season 7, October 2014.
My Lesson Summary Google Slide presentation Esther Solondz Video on Vimeo All photos courtesy of the author.

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Investigation: Where Art Meets Science | Art21 Magazine

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"Artists and scientists alike begin their working projects and processes with a question-an inquiry. They are located within and asking questions of the same world. Processes and final manifestations of the work can differ greatly, yet goals may be parallel." -Beth Carruthers, 2006 "[Like] a scientist, an artist uses experimentation to think of different ways to make art.

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Grade 12 Earth and Space Science with Grade 12 Dance

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David Brooks, Mary Mattingly

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Gap Ecology (Three Still Lives with Cherry Pickers and Palms)

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On October 5, 2013, Socrates Sculpture Park presented "Gap Ecology (Three Still Lives with Cherry Pickers and Palms)" by David Brooks, as part of Marfa Dialogues/NY. "Gap Ecology" at Socrates consisted of three "cherry pickers", or aerial boom lifts - common pieces of heavy machinery that tend to live on job sites throughout the duration of large construction projects.

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Micah Lexier

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Mel Chin

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Mel Chin describes the origins and motivations behind his nationwide art project Paydirt in a keynote address at the 2008 National Art Education Association Convention.

The high lead content in New Orleans' soil-among the worst in the country-was exacerbated by the havoc wreaked by the 2005 hurricane. Discovering that "the disaster was in the soil before the disaster," Chin felt compelled to do something. Speaking before a crowd of thousands of art educators from across the country, Chin recalls his disillusionment: "I remember standing in the ruins of the Ninth Ward and realizing as a creative individual that I felt hopeless and inadequate. And I was flooded by this terrible insecurity that being an artist was not enough to deal with the tragedy that was before me." Thus Paydirt and its sister initiative, the "Fundred Dollar Bill Project" was born.

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Credits

Producer: Larissa Nikola-Lisa & Kelly Shindler. Camera: Larissa Nikola-Lisa. Sound: Wesley Swinnen. Editor: Lizzie Donahue & Larissa Nikola-Lisa.

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Stay inspired this summer with Summer of Shorts, featuring ten new films premiering across ten consecutive Fridays throughout the summer.

Mel Chin 's art is both analytical and poetic and evades easy classification. Alchemy, botany, and ecology are but a few of the disciplines that intersect in his work. He insinuates art into unlikely places, including destroyed homes, toxic landfills, and even popular television, investigating how art can provoke greater social awareness and responsibility. Unconventional and politically engaged, his projects also challenge the idea of the artist as the exclusive creative force behind an artwork.

Artist Mel Chin discusses the inspiration for his 1991 land art piece, Revival Field.

ART21 is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization; all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

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Art21 is a celebrated global leader in presenting thought-provoking and sophisticated content about contemporary art, and the go-to place to learn first-hand from the artists of our time. A nonprofit organization, Art21's mission is to inspire a more creative world through the works and words of contemporary artists.