Curiosity, creativity, the courage to switch perspectives and thinking outside the box: Art and science have much in common. The interaction between the two spheres can be beneficial for scientists and artists alike. This is why BCSSS board member Jeanette Müller, in cooperation with the association ScienceCenter Netzwerk, presents her new innovative program called WISSENS°KUNST (roughly translates as ‘the art of knowing’).

In this project, Müller brings together artists who are dedicating their work to scientific topics. On 16 May 2019, Müller invites several artists to present their thoughts and methods and to encourage the audience to actively discover the intersection of art and science. The artworks will be shown at the Wissens°raum in Vienna, Austria and can be visited anytime after the event during regular opening hours.

Two days later, on May 18, Müller continues the exploration of this topic at the vernissage for the exhibition “BREAKING NEWS – AMNESIA”. In this project, the focus shifts towards the role of symbols for both art and science. Müller presents her text on the meaning of symbols, both refering to the work of Bertalanffy as well as alluding to some great masters of symbolism such as Austrian artist Falco, John Lennon and Yoko Ono among others. The reading is accompanied by the visual artworks of Paul Divjak and Toni Kleinlerchner.

With this demonstration, she brings forth the essence of BERTA’s work – a term she coined for the couple Ludwig von Bertalanffy and his wife Maria Magdalena, a duo that she finds to be equally important for the foundations of General Systems Theory (GST):

+ We humans live in a symbolical world of language, thought, social systems, science and art and so on. + We live in a world that we created for ourselves, and this is not the world of things, but the world of symbols.

(translated from the original:’
“+ Wir Menschen leben in einer symbolischen Welt der Sprache, des Gedankens, der sozialen Systeme, der Wissenschaft und der Kunst und so weiter. + Wir leben in einer von uns selbst geschaffenen Welt, und das ist nicht die Welt der Dinge, sondern der Symbole.”)