Field BioArt: Integrating Studies of Art, Biology and Nature
Natural environments offer unique and unparalleled opportunities to develop innovative, creative methods of scientific and biological inquiry and hybrid and experimental art. They can act as studio+labs in which research on ecological, natural history, behavioral, and morphological aspects of flora and fauna in their natural habitats can be conducted via scientific methodology and art-making. By creatively combining various methods of field biology and art making in an immersive natural environment, students engage in multi-layered, novel bioart exploration and research. I will discuss my experience, as a biology professor at an art school, in developing and teaching several site-specific, college field courses at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design that focus on integrating biology and art in the field. Further, I will discuss immersive Field Studies of Art+Nature travel courses developed via the Art+Bio Collaborative, an inter disciplinary educational, non-profit org I co-founded, focused on the integration of art and biology, that brings together scientists and artists out of the lab and studio, respectively, and into the field.
Associate Professor
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Saúl S. Nava is an associate professor of Biology and Life Sciences at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, a research associate in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, and cofounder of the Art+Bio Collaborative, a nonprofit that integrates art and biology through research, collaboration, and education. His biological research focuses on the ecology and evolution of animal behavior, communication, and vision. He conducts research and field work throughout the tropics and the Southwest United States. He is active in and passionate about the integration of art, biology, science, and education to explore novel methods of creativity, collaboration, public engagement, and inquiry about nature.
