June Paik, with whom I became friends. Obviously, aware of all these things, I knew a societal
shift was coming and I wanted to be a part of it.
SAiA: In an interview with ASCI, you talk
about “…not getting into the technical aspects
of quantum physics because that causes the
eyes of the art audience to glaze over” in reference to your project about the Large Hadron
Collider. In making your work, do you attempt
to strike a balance between the science and aesthetics in each piece? And to extend this idea,
how much of “the science” do you hope your
audience walks away with after viewing your
work?
SM: For me, this question is the core issue in
the discussion about art and science. Matisse
said that audience completes the work and finding an audience is a huge part of the dialogue
about science in art. Will the general art viewer,
critic, and collector get on board? Science and
mathematics are very specialized languages,
which a select few understand. When work
gets too technical or science based, then the art
audience is alienated. In my protein series, at
the National Academy of Science, the science
of Rod MacKinnon’s research is incredible but
hard for most people to grasp. While I was in
the fortunate position to ask Rod endless questions and read papers about