The Art of Science
Written and filmed by Calli Westra
“Both art and science are about understanding the world around you” - Bob Goldstein
After teaching his morning screen printing class in the Hanes Art Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Bob Goldstein has 15 minutes to trek across campus to the Goldstein Lab, where he and his team will conduct research on one of the most resilient organisms on Earth. During this walk, he switches his brain from the study of art to the exploration of science. It is within these moments when something extraordinary happens. “My brain switches to the other subject and there's a little bit of crossover,” Goldstein said when describing where he finds his inspiration for his art. “A lot of the ideas I think about in science end up in the art.”
“To be the first person in the world to know something is really exciting.”
The Art of Science explores the relationship between Goldstein’s two seemingly conflicting passions.
The Goldstein Lab
Goldstein leads a research lab in the UNC Biology Department where he and his students study tardigrades. Commonly referred to as water bears, tardigrades are microscopic animals that can survive extremely harsh environments. They can be dried out for decades and heated to above boiling temperature and bounce back in an instant. Goldstein and his team are researching the most fascinating yet fundamental question regarding these animals – how on earth do they survive through all of this?
“We’ve been grooming them as emerging models for studying how body forms evolve and how biological materials can survive extreme conditions,” Goldstein said. The knowledge gained from studying what exactly protects tardigrades could be used to improve vaccine programs and transportation. “If we didn't have to use freezers [to store vaccines], we could just store stuff dry at room temperature like we can with tardigrades,” he said. “Vaccine programs would work way, way better.” Goldstein and his group have been able to discover some of these proteins that act as protectants for tardigrades. The Goldstein Lab is the only that has been able to discover that these proteins contribute to the tardigrades resiliency and, if put into other cells, they make them more resilient too.
“I don't feel right unless I'm actually making something.”
When he is not researching tardigrades, Goldstein spends his time making and teaching art. What began as a hobby with his kids has evolved into another way for Goldstein to explore his interests in the science world. “I tried for a while not to make science inspired art,” he said. “But a lot of the ideas I think about in science end up in the art, and some of it in quite simple forms.” It was through this struggle that he learned how art and science relate to one another in a fundamental way. The research Goldstein conducts requires experimentation, creativity, and curiosity. “You have to have a lot of resilience for failure,” he said. “This is true in art as well.”
Creative Workspaces
Below is 360° footage of Goldstein’s workspaces displayed to demonstrate the differences and similarities between right brain vs left brain activity.
The left is the Goldstein Lab and the right is his home printmaking studio.