Art and science work is experiencing a dramatic rise coincident with burgeoning Science and
Technology Studies (STS) interest in this area. Science has played the role of muse for the
arts, inspiring imaginative reconfigurations of scientific themes and exploring their cultural
resonance. Conversely, the arts are often deployed in the service of science communication,
illustration, and popularization. STS scholars have sought to resist the instrumentalization of
the arts by the sciences, emphasizing studies of theories and practices across disciplines and
the distinctive and complementary contributions of each. The manifestation of this commonality of creative and epistemic practices is the emergence of Art, Science, and Technology Studies (ASTS) as the interdisciplinary exploration of art–science.
This handbook defines the modes, practices, crucial literature, and research interests of
this emerging field. It explores the questions, methodologies, and theoretical implications of
scholarship and practice that arise at the intersection of art and STS. Further, ASTS demonstrates how the arts are intervening in STS. Drawing on methods and concepts derived
from STS and allied fields including visual studies, performance studies, design studies, science communication, and aesthetics and the knowledge of practicing artists and curators,
ASTS is predicated on the capacity to see both art and science as constructions of human
knowledge-making. Accordingly, it posits a new analytical vernacular, enabling new ways of
seeing, understanding, and thinking critically about the world.
This handbook provides scholars and practitioners already familiar with the themes and
tensions of art–science with a means of connecting across disciplines. It proposes organizing
principles for thinking about art–science across the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and
arts. Encounters with art and science become meaningful in relation to practices and materials manifest as perceptual habits, background knowledge, and cultural norms. As the chapters
in this handbook demonstrate, a variety of STS tools can be brought to bear on art–science so
that systematic research can be conducted on this unique set of knowledge-making practices.