This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
A couple of years ago, when the massive and amazing all-in-one scienceblogging.org was launching, the organizers asked if I thought there were enough artists blogging about science-related artwork to make an RSS feed that would update a few times a day or week, that could collect science-based artists under one roof. I said sure, and launched the Science Artists Feed.
It's a couple of years on, and I'm happy to say the Science Artists Feed has grown to over 170 blogs, and updates with tremendous speed. In the past, I've highlighted posts that caught my eye in the Scumble series of posts. The Feed became a great way for me and others to keep our eyes on what was happening in the most innovative rapidly-changing field of art today.
Times change. RSS feeds still play a vital role. But communication and engagement have largely moved around.
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Group blogs and blogs featuring science-based art - blogs like ART Evolved, Mad Art Lab, Street Anatomy, SONSI, here on Symbiarticand many more - keep changing and growing while featuring a bewildering array of artists. Artists on the cutting edge of our understanding of everything from dinosaurs to microbes to nebulae.
I have been dissatisfied with the Science Artists Feed for a while. While I think it's useful, and it's amazing that each month I still receive a couple of requests to join, it really wasn't a community. So last December, we at Symbiartic started the Google+ SciArt Circle Community.
The community has grown pretty quickly, and we're continuing to moderate new members though the posts are publicly visible.
From the description:
This community invites creators to post their own artwork and links, or bloggers writing interviews and review of science-art to post their own links.
This is a public community so everyone may enjoy the content posted by artists. To join, make sure we know you are a creator! Fill out your profile.
Imagery enables insight and transforms understanding. Your science-related visual art is welcome here!
One of my goals with the community is to avoid "gee-whiz" link spam. It's all too easy to fill up the community with content of the "I saw this cool science-artsy thing on the internet one time" -type. By encouraging the creators to post their own work, we have a more enriching discussions about how they made it and why. Here are a few examples from the community page:
Mieke Roth has been keeping us updated about her Ultimate Croc Anatomy Project. Watch for more about this on Symbiartic soon and check out her IndieGoGo page! Donate now for this ambitious project to generate a 3D crocodile, inside and out.
Parasitologist and artist Tommy Leung (Symbiartic interview here) has been hosting regular SciArt Hangouts on weekends - join the Community to keep up to date or follow Tommy on Twitter @The_Episiarch.
Artists such as Louise Hughes have been sharing new galleryshow openings and events.
The community is lively, varied, and friendly. I can't wait to see what new connections and collaborations develop here. Come check it out on Google+!