Pictures of New Knowledge: A Dilemma of Fact or Fantasy

Male, Alan (2012) Pictures of New Knowledge: A Dilemma of Fact or Fantasy. In: Second International Conference: Art, Illustration and Visual Culture in Infant and Primary Education, 23 - 25 July 2012, University of Aveiro, Portugal.

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Abstract / Summary

This paper reveals methodologies for the dissemination of new knowledge specific to the scientific discourse of palaeo-ecology and the evolution of early life. Through the research, faunae previously unknown and undiscovered are given visual identities and shown for the first time. I collaborated with the palaeology team from Leicester University to document Keubosia susanae discovered in the the Ordovician Soom Shale, South Africa and Stendodyctia, an early flying insect from the Carboniferous Period., The two case studies are disparate in context and use; one is produced by primary scientific research for original and advanced debate and it can be considered generically ‘didactic.’ The focus of this study is efficient knowledge transfer regarding newly-discovered ‘raw’ facts. The second study is for children’s educational and diversionary interest purposes. This study works to captivate and engage with an emphasis on ‘seduction’ and ‘charm’: both studies adhere to the prescribed criteria for quality, the academic value accorded the dissemination of scientific information., The publication interrogates major modern determinants of the dissemination of scientific information, the cultural dictate related to evolutionary science & education and, subsequently, the role of religious beliefs in the rejection of much proven scientific fact or theory. This paper proceeds from a position aware that contemporary illustrators will have to be increasingly mindful of global ethical concerns. This paper examines a ‘third way’ for the presentation of prehistoric natural science themes: to be visually ‘romantic’ & deliberately convey falsehoods and distortions of the truth; it is the ‘dilemma of fact or fantasy.’ This publication weighs the potential for work of academic value to be produced through the mediation of these cultural poles.

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