To Complete a Culture

381 Words2 Pages
Why do we need both art and science to complete a culture? Art and science is important, that’s a given. But why? Art and science aren’t alike, yet they are. They are needed in every culture. A man was once heard to say, “Without science, we would still be in the Stone Age...and the art made the cave women look better.” This is funny, although not necessarily true. Science and art have always overlapped. Take, for example, Leonardo DaVinci. He was both an artist and a scientist. By looking at his paintings, you can tell that he honored science and art from the beginning. As a result, Leonardo DaVinci helped complete a culture; the Renaissance Period. Art and science are not in different territories, but are in fact, two characteristics of one thing. Eli Siegel explains this in a lecture he titled, “Educational Method is Poetic”. “The relation of art and science is a relation of opposites. The purpose of art is: from feeling to get to truth. The purpose of science is: from truth to get to feeling or emotion. But they are about the same thing, with different direction.” Science and art are needed today in America as part of our culture. Recently, at the American Museum of Natural History, science and art are laboring together to bring to life a realistic model of the plants, insects, and dinosaurs from the Mesozoic Era. They will complete the museum. Claude Bernard once said, “Art is I, science is we.” Horace Freeland Judson confirmed these words with the quote, “Science is our century's art.” Science and art are needed for all cultures. The Great Pyramids of Egypt are art and science combined. They complete Egypt. The Terracotta Warriors are a blend of science and art. They complete China. So many things from all different countries are basically from a mix of art and science. All of them, in some way or another, complete the culture they belong
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