Artistic personality in scientific illustration: a case study

In this article we intend to study the mechanisms, processes and results of artistic research in the scientific and technical field, from the commission of a work of scientific illustration. That is, the request to the artist, by a third person (researcher, scientist, editor or specialist in one of the areas of experimental sciences), to carry out works that allow any of these options (independently or combined) : show the results of a scientific investigation, communicate science, or make materials of didactic / educational nature. To approach artistic research in the scientific field means placing the presence of the artist in a specific environment in the focus of the research itself, the symbiosis with knowledge and its translation into artistic languages through its corporeity. The experience through the body (brain, eye, hand) is a fundamental issue. The coexistence of the artist researcher in the scientific context of research is considered in artistic research an essential practice. The apprehension of the natural fact that one wants to treat in the investigation is favored with the presence. Starting from an initial justification that starts from the interest that moves us to consider artistic research necessary in a scientific field, we subsequently contextualize at the theoretical level the way in which an assignment of scientific illustration is addressed for an archaeological investigation. Next, the research process and the field work are described, starting from a project developed by the author. To conclude this article, the results of the artistic experience are discussed and how they favor those of the study in the field of scientific research.