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Prompt 2: For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be

explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the

natural sciences.

Knowledge is both that which can be explained using evidence or supported with theories, as well as

that which may remain unexplained but has a presence in human lives. Knowledge is ever-growing

and there is always scope for new knowledge to be created. There is always an element that remains

undiscovered. This could be an assumption or hypothesis without evidence or supporting arguments.

In this essay, I will delve deeper into the relative importance of explainability and non-explainability

in the context of the two areas of knowledge, the Arts and the Natural Sciences.

Art is a discipline found in multiple forms, with unique artists trying to reflect and influence society

with their perspectives. I believe that artistic practice is about the subjective interpretation of reality

that both creates and transmits knowledge. This knowledge is derived from what the artist knows and

understands. Therefore, their priority remains to convey what can be explained to their audience.

Art is closely interlinked with society and a variety of subjective experiences of the human condition

are portrayed through art to transmit knowledge about society. One such artwork is “The Old Guitarist”

by Pablo Picasso, from his Blue Period between 1901 and 1904. The painting is described as a

reflection of Picasso’s personal struggles, poverty, illness and the social outcasts that he witnessed in

Spain (www.publicdelivery.org.) He uses multiple features and techniques to describe the occurrences

through his artwork, focusing on what can be explained. Picasso uses a monochromatic blue colour

palette to build on the emotional impact. The colour blue is often associated with depression, sadness

or a low mood - Picasso’s emotions during the period (www.artincontext.org.) The most salient feature

of this painting is the old man hunching over the guitar, reflecting Picasso's low standard of living

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during that time (www.publicdelivery.org.) The man’s pale blue skin, weak skeleton-like body, torn

clothes, and elongated body posture leave viewers with an interpretation of the suffering in society.

The closed eyes symbolize the man’s blindness towards society and his environment, indicating how

individuals during that time felt isolated and looked towards a “divine sight” (Lloyd) to rely on.

Furthermore, Picasso creates a contrast by painting the guitar with comparatively warm tones of brown

and yellow, highlighting the guitar as a symbol of hope and comfort. It conveys how art in any form

acts as a coping mechanism for individuals during tough times and helps them express complex

emotions. Picasso uses multiple features like colours, characters and symbols to convey a subjective

interpretation to the audience. From the point of view of the knowledge recipient as well as the artist,

the choice of artistic elements inadvertently invites an interpretation that explains Picasso’s blue period

and its intersection with society.

Additionally, The Oxford dictionary defines abstract art as something “that does not show people or

things as they really look, but which shows the artist’s feelings about them.” (Oxford Dictionary)

Abstract art is often focused on the artist's perception of reality, but the methods of representation vary

depending on the purpose of the artwork and the artist’s intention. Abstract art uses colours, forms and

textures, without a particular figurative representation. Therefore, abstract paintings seem

unexplainable and presumably for such artists the unexplained is more important. On the contrary, the

artist attempts to give an explanation within the scope of her interpretation. Jadé Fadojutimi, a British

painter, is one of the many artists that use abstract art to convey her understanding of reality. She is

often described by others as the composer of colour, space and environments

(www.jadefadojutimi.com) and is known for painting her feelings, experiences and memories. One of

her artworks is called “The Point to Pointlessness” which features energetic looping brush strokes of

yellow and blue, emerging from a thicker magenta-black background. Jadé compared its surface to a

“facade of a sense of place” (icamiami.org) similar to a window. Her paintings are expected to force

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her audience to draw connections by following the line of the strokes. In this painting, the brush strokes

tend to be focused on the centre and dissolve around the edges. She explains “The notion of the ‘self’

and the fracturing of identity are explored in my paintings through creating locations of familiar

unfamiliarity, fears and unknowns,” (Fadojutimi) indicating that she draws meaning for her own work

from these complex emotions that are difficult to capture in a defined way. As a result, each

individual’s interpretation of the painting would differ, based on their personal experiences drawing

from their respective contexts. Jadé's paintings serve as a reflection of her own articulated realities,

explained through her work. However, the explained interpretation is subjective because her emotions

cannot be explicitly conveyed through her art, even though the depth and meaning of those emotions

can be evoked. Jadé says “I want to paint the indescribable: moments that enthral and challenge me

with a stream of questions that continue to build over time,”(Fadojutimi) showing how the

indescribable is rather what can be explained through her art, making the explained relatively

important, and allowing the viewer to interpret subjectively.

The natural sciences is an AOK that explores and is involved in the process of unravelling the physical

space around us, seeking to explain everything that comprises this universe. Scientists play a crucial

role in the creation of new knowledge by leading research projects that can potentially change the

world and how it is perceived. Therefore, for scientists the unexplained remains more important as

their work is guided by the quest to explain the unexplained, using proofs and evidence.

The mystery of the origin of the universe can help us explore the relative importance of the unexplained

in the natural sciences. According to the Big Bang Theory, there was a tiny and dense ball of energy,

that expanded in fractions of seconds, and formed the universe leaving it desolate and cold. This cosmic

expansion, required tons of energy, from an unidentified source. Scientists say, "We don’t know

anything about what came before inflation. It’s doubtful that we’ll ever know.” (Kinney). Today,

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scientists are in search of the initial source of the energy that caused this expansion. As it was a cosmic

expansion, the chances of any traces left of the incident are rare, but we still continue the research.

Scientists believe that an enhanced understanding of the cosmos can help us reconsider our place and

time in the universe. It can also allow us to hypothesise about the future and its shortcomings.

Understanding how and where the energy came from allows us to figure out if a cycle of events

triggered it, which can potentially lead to the existence of a new universe altogether. This further aids

scientists to provide an explanation for the prediction of the timeframe and causation for the collapse

of the universe. This drive to answer the unexplained has led to many possible explanations of the

origin of the universe through the development of the multi-universe and parallel universe theories.

Delving into the unexplained is vital for the creation of scientific knowledge, and thus merits higher

significance.

Furthermore, in the natural sciences, during the process of proving certain phenomena, driven by the

unexplained, scientists innovate new technologies that hold the power to change the world. For over

30 years, up until 2012, “why certain particles have mass”(Cooke) remained unexplained. It was only

in 1964 that Peter Higgs, Francois Englert and four others proposed the existence of the Higgs Boson.

It is said that 10-12 seconds after the Big Bang, particles interacted with the Higgs field which gave

them mass. Before this, these particles travelled at the speed of light without mass until the universe

expanded and cooled. The Higgs Boson is responsible for giving mass to almost all particles in the

universe, however, it took a while to prove. While explaining the existence of the Higgs Boson,

scientists continued to discover advanced versions of increasingly powerful accelerators to better

access the Higgs field. These accelerators with time helped uncover other particles, like the 16

subatomic particles. This shows how new knowledge was being created in the process of explaining

the unexplained, the mystery of particles and their masses. The Large Hadron Collider, in the form of

new knowledge, was a crucial part of proving the Higgs Boson and this accelerator remains a one-of-

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a-kind. It is made up of particles from around the world with experts working to operate it. The

developed particle accelerators also helped to create detectors such as the 3D colour X-ray scanner. It

is said that this is just the beginning and there are multiple research organisations continuing research

for further discoveries related to the Higgs Boson that will be of significance to human society. This

is why, for scientists, the unexplained, in this case why particles have mass, acts as a driver to create

new knowledge. Although, one cannot negate the significance of explanation in the natural sciences

as it is a detailed explanation of a scientific concept that can translate into real-life application,

however, in terms of the degree of importance what cannot be explained has greater importance.

It can be concluded that both what can and cannot be explained are important for societal development.

What can be explained is more important to artists because it allows them to convey a subjective

interpretation of their surroundings to their audience. Scientists, on the other hand, value what cannot

be explained because it motivates them to create new knowledge. As a result, there is always room for

us humans to learn more and expand our knowledge and understanding.

Word Count: 1586

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