The Art and Science of Bacteria workshop: Anicka Yi and Tal Danino
Photo Credit: L. Barry Hetherington Arts at MIT
“What we’re trying to do is to advance both
the arts and the sciences. Illustrating science is
not really the goal for us, we really want to work
on the edge—to bring the two together in order
to educate and excite each other and push the
boundaries of both disciplines. We want artist
and scientists to come together to further their
research on both sides,” explains Rotzel.
Alise Upitis, assistant curator at the MIT List
Visual Arts Center (LVAC), finds that Yi’s work
exemplifies “irreducible ambiguity [and often]
changes over time in unpredictable ways due to
the environment.” For her upcoming MIT List
show, Yi will create a tableau revolving around a
pond containing various manner of objects, and
enveloped by the distinctive scent of mint. The
work is part of Yi’s ongoing “Flavor Genome”
project. Yi will work in collaboration with
movement arts pioneer and MIT alum Seth
Riskin at the MIT Museum Studio to develop
lighting elements for the piece. Yi’s MIT LVAC
exhibition opens May 22 and ends July 26.
Catalyst Conversations:
Art and Science in Dialogue
MIT’s LVAC also provides support for the art
and science lecture series “Catalyst Conversations.” Artist, educator, and curator Deborah
Davidson sought a way to enable Boston-area
artists to get more recognition for their talents
and hard work. “I was noticing in a lot of gallery
shows the tremendous interest in science and
SciArt in America April 2015
technology.” This was the impetus for Davidson to start a series of public talks so people
could get to know the artists and their work as
well as learn about the science that inspires the
work. Davidson’s thoughtfully curated monthly
lecture series is designed to educate and inspire. Catalyst Conversations has featured Alan
Lightman, Felice Frankel, Janet Echelman, and
Heather Dewey-Hagborg. After the featured
scientist and artist presents their work, an
organic open conversation with audience participants creates a space that truly puts art and
science in dialogue. Davidson observes, since
launching Catalyst Conversations in 2012, “As
I’ve been doing this, I am seeing both worlds
opening up to each other.”
It appears the sciart bases are covered in Boston this spring. The co-mingling of art, science,
and technology spark inspiration and increase
the public understanding of cutting-edge research, bringing the future ever closer. One can
only imagine what may ignite at the next Arts
at MIT, MIT LVAC, Catalyst Conversations,
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