PLACES & SPACES
Linking Art, Science, and
Technology with LASERs
NYC LASER 2014. Norman Ballard’s
laser demonstration. Courtesy SAiA.
By Pamela Segura
Contributor
The lights were turned off and Norman Ballard stood at the center of a medium-sized room
talking about his work as a laser sculptor. Behind Ballard was a screen for his PowerPoint presentation; before him, an eager crowd. He powered through a history of laser production and contemplated the ways in which art can address the human value of laser technology. Novelist Victoria N.
Alexander followed Ballard’s lecture and spoke of biosemiotics, a discipline that looks at life forms
as “signs” that relay and receive information. Betsy Damon, at last, spoke of the position water
occupies in typically Western cultural contexts. Damon used the cultural significance of water to
highlight the ways in which artists can use their works to explore issues of water vulnerability.
SciArt in America June 2014
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