Art is arresting. It is critical and discriminatory - a space that is defined, framed, and filled with the purpose of communicating an impression. Even the most basic colors and shapes do not exist as independent objective entities, but rather are subconsciously endowed with meaning, contextualized by culture and society. In creating a particular juxtaposition of already familiar colors and shapes the artist generates a unique impression, subtly manipulating viewers into feeling or thinking a certain way. The reaction of the viewer in turn serves to further contextualize the piece - whether or not a work of art succeeds in drawing attention contributes to the nature of the piece itself and its understanding in any given day or age. In this way art is arresting - not because anything inherent to the piece itself, but because of the audience that ascribes significance to it.
Art is inseparable from society - it is fundamentally linked to our technological advances and taps into our fascination with the very experience of being human. And so I believe the image below, which displays the use of fluorescent proteins to map individual neurons in the hippocampus, is art. The color and framing are deliberate. Its ambiguity as an image draws the viewer's attention, and the knowledge of its source makes it even more intriguing.
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