Plus il ira, plus l'art sera scientifique, de même que la science deviendra artistique. Tous deux se rejoindront au sommet après s'être séparés à la base.
The further she advances, the more art will be science, and science too will become art. The two will come together again at the top after being separated at the base (Gustave Flaubert).
SYNTOPIK RESEARCH
Syntopik Research facilitates research between artists and scientists on a highly creative level of excellence. The radical shift from an additive to a co-creative permeation of the disciplines was named ‘Syntopia’ by the neuroscientist E. Pöppel. Our objective is to create a ‘syntopik’ paradigm in research and research methodology, transcending disciplines.
At their core, artists and scientists are very similar. Both endeavour to solve our greatest mysteries through the power of imagination. Leonardo da Vinci was both artist and scientist. Significant scientific development depends on the overturning of established ideas.“Artists often have implicit knowledge, which is then confirmed by scientists” (Pöppel). Since the 20th century, leading thinkers, from Albert Einstein to Stuart Kauffman, have called for looking beyond the limits of reductive science in order to grapple with the complexities of our present age. In a 2010 correspondence to the journal ‘Nature’ a group of international scientists warned that Europe's future depends on the funding of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration (Vasbinder et al., 2010).
Artistic and scientific agency comes with great societal responsibility. The syntopik paradigm is interventionist in the sense that it methodically frames, structures, and organises the discourse of society and world events in regard to the issues and problems at stake. A syntopik research cluster consists of two or more artist and scientist investigators working on a research proposition which is equally motivated by all parties. New modes of synergetic investigation provide valuable insight to solving challenges we face in regard to the environment, technology and medicine.
The residency is mediated by artist, scientist and philosopher ‘diplomats’ who have the ability to simultaneously inhabit multiple epistemic domains, being genuinely sympathetic to different frameworks in the arts, sciences and humanities. They translate between contemplative, technical and theoretical practice, bridging and overlapping these different modi operandi.
Residencies are offered on a weekly or monthly basis. Research residents are selected solely on the basis of excellence, regardless of age or nationality. Diversity and multiple scales of lived experience and memory are integral. Longer term residencies will be considered with an appropriate research proposition.
The next call will be published here in spring 2018.
VISION
Syntopik Research is a non-profit organisation and is currently inviting strategic partners. Our vision is to create an international network of think tanks for transdisciplinary research.
CONTACT
info@syntopik.org
