Event 1: Art and Science

Proof of Attendance

I attended the Art and Science exhibition at the San Jose Museum of Art, a collection of work that inspired by the inquisitiveness and ingenuity that scientists and artists share, even though at times their work seems worlds apart. There were several interesting pieces presented, but I’ll be discussing my favorites here.

           

A dragon flapping its way through swathes of color

Observe, Experiment, Question was designed to play with the properties of colored light. The rings of color on the wall demonstrated how primary colors combine to white. There were several light filters, as well as thin figurines, that could be held up against the projector lights to block certain colors from hitting the wall, creating shadows of varying hues. Sporadic giggles could be heard from that corner as kids discovered the figures shaped like knights and dragons, using them and the plastic colored paddles to change the light thrown against the wall. This exhibit was an ingenious way of encouraging viewers to explore the properties of light, replacing physics equations with something interactive and colorful.

Wight's slime mold LCD displays

In Creep, Gail Wight used time-lapse videos and LCD panels to “call attention to the similarities that connect the earth’s diverse life forms,” identifying “sea coral and flower buds and leaf patterns” in the structure of the dyed mold. In doing so, she directly attacks the idea that human being are the “most significant species” on the planet, suggesting instead that other organisms deserve the same scientific and artistic importance normally reserved for humans themselves. In an age where humans destroy coral reefs, rainforests, jungles, and other environments that are the natural habitats of so many animals, the reminder that we are not nearly as significant as we sometimes imagine ourselves to be is a necessary admonition.

The Pendulum Drawing Machine was my personal favorite, a neat setup that uses physics to produce beautiful drawings based on which direction the pendulum is swung in. It’s a bit of a simple project, but I think that it’s the perfect embodiment of why science and art are so important to each other. Because science is usually involved with microscopic entities, its connections to the bigger picture are often lined with technical terms and details. But art is adept at using creativity and visual or auditory effects to simply express what science may use complex equations to explain, and it’s this ability of art to translate science into layman’s terms that I think is incredibly valuable.

The pendulum