How painting made me a better accountant
And made you better at life
My mum programmed in C++ before it was cool (was it ever cool?), and certainly before women were supposed to do that sort of thing.
When I was 19, the same age she was married, Mum was granted her PhD in mathematics.
My father taught physics at an academically elite school.
My parents embody the love of science we have as a society. Science implies a level of certainty and rigor that art…well… doesn’t.
Frederick Taylor didn’t revolutionize business with The Principles of Artistic Management. Heaven forbid.
If you want to succeed at life, succeed at science. At the very least read self-help books that consolidate the science for you, so you can apply proven strategies to everyday living, right?
Not so fast.
Impressionism, Problem Solving and Psychological Distance Theory
Until 1874, one centralized body called The Salon regulated art in Paris. The Impressionists, an alternate group of artists, pooled their money and held their own exhibition, stepping away from the traditional, dominant institution.
Degas is one such artist. After having numerous paintings accepted by The Salon, he ran off to become one of the fathers of impressionism.
If you stand too close to his painting The Ballet Class, you’ll see a bunch of smudges. Take a few steps back and a beautiful scene unfolds. Many impressionist works were created like this deliberately.
In real life, Monet’s Lily Pads are quite large. To understand the complete picture, you need to stand back.
According to Psychological Distance Theory, taking a step back improves your ability to understand and creatively solve a problem.
This is true in Impressionism and in the science of problem solving.
Is there something in your life you’re too close to? Take a physical step back, wait a few days, or try imaging the situation from a different perspective.
Remember Impressionism, and create the distance you need to see things more clearly.
Cubism and Perception
Picasso’s Weeping Woman depicts a woman’s face from a variety of angles on one canvas. The significance is how we perceive the face in its many facets, more than the face itself.
“This is a mug” said my high school art teacher, placing her empty coffee mug on the paint-stained table in front of us.
“This is also a mug” she said turning the handle to the left. “And this is a mug” she said turning it upside down.
“Picasso painted all these aspects on one canvas, because they’re all important.”
Cubism is preoccupied with different ways of seeing, or perceiving, the world around us.
Here, dare I say it, art beat science.
Beyond the pressure to publish, scientific results are influenced by biases around what is measured, how it’s measured, and the research laid down by scientists before them .
Gloria Steinham beautifully illustrated this in What if Freud were Phillis?
How would the science of psychology have evolved if, instead of revering Freud as its father, we had ended up revering Phillis, a mother?
Would modern psychology be founded on vagina-envy instead of penis-envy? How would the value of crying, domestic work, or even capitalism have evolved?
Like Steinham, cubism asks “How do we, as humans, perceive and select reality? Why?”
In 1979, nearly 50 years after Picasso’s Weeping Woman, a movement called Critical Science emerged, which questions existing assumptions, meanings, and frameworks.
Cubism teaches us to see reality from a variety of perspectives and question it, especially in ways that seem abstract or absurd.
What can you look at through different lenses, to better understand it?
Take a leaf out of Picasso’s book, and question what you see from as many angles as possible — even ridiculous ones.
Flow State and The Beat Generation
— Daniel Goleman, The Hidden Driver of Excellence
When writing On The Road, Jack Kerouac typed on a long scroll of paper, because replacing sheets of a paper in his typewriter interrupted his flow.
“Struggle to sketch the flow that already exists, intact, in your mind” begins poet and activist Allen Ginsberg, building on Kerouac’s line from Belief and Technique for Modern Prose.
Bunch of hippies, those writers. And yet…
One recent scientific study, rivetingly titled Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow, links the mental clarity of “flow state” with elite athletic performance, musical excellence and generally high productivity.
In flow state you become hyper-productive because your experience, training and habits kick in, and distractions melt away.
[ Flow state] formed a seamless connection of creative mind and mechanical hand.
— Artist Interview on RedBubble
If you want to do more, learn more and gain more, advises FastCompany, think like a surfer. Create an environment where you have to live in the moment, and are constantly learning. Remember to brainstorm, doodle and let your mind wander.
Take a page out of Kerouac’s book (pun intended) and find your flow state.
Where do you feel work comes naturally?
The Power of Now and Impressionism
Monet’s famous Cathedral Series perfectly captures ephemeral moments — brief points in time that break down a complex scene into a simple digestible moment.
As Harvard researchers note in The Science of Meditation, practicing awareness in each moment physically improves parts of the brain that manage addiction, outbursts and stress.
With practice, staying present and controlled becomes easier, as the response embeds in your basal ganglia, a section of your brain controlling habit.
Eckhart Tolle’s popular book The Power of Now helped this idea go mainstream.
“One instant, one aspect of nature contains it all.” — Monet
The practice of being present is scientifically proven to improve your overall health, relationships, and cognitive ability.
When was the last time you put down your phone and gave someone, or somewhere, your undivided attention?
Do you have a few minutes, maybe even right now, to sit quietly and just be?
Dada
Possibly my favorite art movement, “Dada is anti-dada!” was the Dada-ist war-cry.
Popular works came in a variety of mediums including poetry, sculpture and performance.
Despite its chaotic front, lessons from Dada prove timeless:
- Your preconceived ideas influence your perception
- Asking difficult questions is sometimes more important than looking pretty, even in art
- Chance is a bigger player than you realise
- Playfulness is as important as rules
Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain was rejected by the “unjuried” Society of Independent Artists, despite the society being bound by their constitution to accept all submissions.
Fountain evokes important questions about social structures, and how we interpret what we see.
If you hadn’t seen a urinal before, how would you interpret this sculpture?
Duchamp allegedly submitted this for a female artist, who had been using the pseudonym Richard Mutt. How does your perception of the artist change your perception of the art?
Should art always be pretty? Should science always be cold?
A 2012 study by Ritter et al found that when solving problems, adding playfulness — even play that wasn’t related to the task at hand — improved creativity and resulted in more innovative, feasible solutions.
Your own bias is your worst enemy. Spend your time trying to falsify things you believe.
- Judd Antin, AirBnB Research Director
Fountain also ads elements of playfulness and surprise, recognized by science as essential for innovation.
Get playful. Get curious. Ask the difficult questions. Go full-Dada.
Dancing behind Details
Science often involves rigorous testing in controlled environments. Beyond those environments, work is just as rigorous and thorough, albeit more subjective. But it’s not the only field to be meticulous.
Despite rumors of three-week novels, Kerouac was a superb craftsman and a meticulous editor. Puppeteer Jim Henson was renowned for his attention to detail.
Cubism is more than throwing paint on a canvas.
Recently I learned to dance, and performed in a cabaret in downtown Calgary.
As well as rehearsing the routine, we spent hours practicing how to walk on and off stage.
Literally hours just standing up and walking away, taking feedback, then doing it again.
Through art and play you learn that the performance on stage, or the poem, or scientific breakthrough, is the surface of something far deeper.
To “know what you don’t know”, try new experiences, and wear different hats.
As many as you can.
What’s something new you can try?
Duende
Tim Bowling’s The Duende of Tetherball. The inspiration behind this piece. Picked up by chance.
Science is criticized for lacking engaging language, and through this alienating itself from people who could use the information.
After months of non-fiction, Bowling reminded me how beautiful and profound art can be. And how much science can learn from it.
Bowling’s evocative words and personal tone made his work not only accessible, but engaging.
…
All night, I held the moon
like a great moth
in my smile.
But shortly after dawn
a child touched my face in wonder
and I was gone
- Tim Bowling, The Changeling
I learned about a father’s love, our relationship with the past, fishing, and new words with every poem. I even saw a game of tether-ball differently.
A bully
Who has no victim
but himself, a tree
stripped by acid rain,
a one-armed boxer with a single glove
- Tim Bowling, The Duende of Tetherball
What can be created by combining the communication of art with the principles of science?
Should we ignore science?
The “laws” of Science naturally assign boundaries to knowledge.
Growing up around Science, particularly in academia, there was a definite system. Innovation often happens outside of that system.
To ignore the human aspect of scientific theory, is to ignore the fact that its very framework was constructed by humans — often whichever humans happened to be in power at the time.
But…science has saved lives, eradicated disease, and is responsible for many of the technological advances we enjoy today.
To avoid hepatitis or measles, immunization wins over interpretive dance. Flying across the ocean in a tiny metal tube? Thanks science.
Bowling’s poetry vividly shows working with your passion is a rare and challenging privilege that changes you. It entices you to explore, despite yourself.
Through art, and science, you can understand multiple answers to the same question.
One beautiful thing about art and science — they are both curious.
Just for the next few minutes, how can you be curious and present, wherever you are?
