Event #1: Lab Work – Art of the Experiment

 

The New School of New York logo from https://sites.google.com/a/newschool.edu/faculty-professional-development-network/

Hosted by the New School, Seminar 6: Lab Work – Art of the Experiment highlighted the intersection of scientific research and contemporary art. It began with Mary Maggic performing a tale about molecular toxins people are ingesting from everyday objects like plastic bottles. Claire Pentecost showed her collection of soil chromatography inspired by research on Round Up herbicide to portray the unique shapes created by plant’s organic materials and minerals as an aesthetical piece. fields harriton’s redux drip portrayed the neglected contribution of African American scientist, more specifically Norbert Rilliuex’s evaporator, through a mixture of visual and auditory experience. Finally, Deboleena Roy related her background on neuroendocrinology with social unjust by recounting the shared language between scientists and activists.

Claire Pentacost's Soil Thresholds from Spencer Art 

This event placed the two cultures named by C.P. Snow, science and art, into the reality of our world. Oftentimes, when taking a scholarly class like this, one’s mind is lost in the topics and opinions of the professors or authors of required texts. You forget there’s a world beyond the class and the true purpose of taking a class like this is to actually apply it to the real world. That is, combining the knowledge you learn in your university and apply it in everyday life and make a change. Like Pentecost, she used her background as an artist and writer to call attention to climate change by showing the different images of soil due to pesticides or other chemicals used by farmers to develop a greater harvest. Or harrington an artist that reveals the underworking of people of color to the development of the Western world. I was especially surprised by his art piece because I’m not a fan of contemporary art. I never really understood it because of its surface-level meaning and lack of history.

fields harrington's Redux Drip from https://fieldsharrington.net/

Redux drip, however, stimulates your visual and auditory senses to depict the moment of transformation, a moment itself difficult to capture at a single moment. Through the combination of lab items, a microphone, and an amplifier, the audience becomes a part of the scientific research. The rich history of Norbert Rilliuex also contributed to my interest in the piece. It begs the question: which artists or scientists have been overlooked just based on the color of their skin?

I would most definitely recommend this event because it provided the proper introduction from both sides of the culture. There definite scientific jargon that would interest scientists alike, and artists wanting to be inspired by the scientific process.

Reference

“Black Secret Technology.” Fields Harrington, fieldsharrington.net/black-secret-technology.

“COLLECTION SEARCH.” Spencer Art App, spencerartapps.ku.edu/collection-search#/artist/26900.

The Co-Production of Knowledge, wgss.emory.edu/RoyLab/.

“The Faculty Center for Innovation, Collaboration and Support.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/a/newschool.edu/faculty-professional-development-network/.

“Norbert Rillieux.” American Chemical Society, www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/norbertrillieux.html.

“Redox Drip.” Fields Harrington, fieldsharrington.net/redox-drip.

WordPress Photography theme by The Theme Foundry. Claire Pentecost, www.publicamateur.org/?p=85.

Snow, C. P. “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Culture.” The Reed Lecture. The Reed Lecture, 1958.