Event 1: Understanding Arts Based Research Symposium

I attended the “Understanding Arts Based Research” symposium on Thursday, April 4 and listened to the keynote by Gerald Bast, the president of the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. He spoke on the changing social and labor climate and the influence that changing technology has on this climate.

Gerald Bast juxtaposed these giant leaps in science and technology with the climate, explaining that the increasing knowledge of science and technology should naturally lead to increased knowledge in problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity. Because while having increased technology can positive influence this climate, without properly applying and adjusting our problem solving and critical thinking skills, the divide between technology and its applications will become too great. Art will fall behind the rapidly changing technology, and creativity will remain stagnant.

The main takeaway I received from this speech was that art is useful, but without properly changing our mindset to match the rapidly changing technologies, art will not reach its fullest potential to help change the social and political climate of the world. Applied arts has a different meaning when considering this changing technology. Thinking in this way leads me to consider ways that art can be used to fuel this new creative revolution in the 21st century, which can make powerful changes to society. Specifically, considering evolving science and how art can adapt to express science can reach people beyond the field of science and technology, reflecting the changing social and political climate. In relation to this class, it leads me to consider ways that science and art can co-exist and lead to more simultaneous scientific and social advancements to bring about a creative revolution.