This blog has moved
Monday, April 5, 2010
This blog is now located at http://blog.theleonardo.org/.
You will be automatically redirected, or you may click here.
For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://blog.theleonardo.org/feeds/posts/default.
Awaiting by Ernesto Pujol
Friday, April 2, 2010
Blog entry by Kersten Swinyard, The Leonardo's exhibits project manager
On the evening of April 8, a few dozen white-clad walkers will approach the Utah State Capitol slowly, methodically, on their way to participation in a large-scale performance, called "Awaiting." The performers will appear throughout the city and gather on the south steps of the Capitol at sunset, then spend the night and early morning ascending and descending the Capitol's iconic stairs.
The performance piece is the work of Ernesto Pujol, an artist born in Cuba and currently in residence at the University of Utah's department of art and art history. Pujol is gathering the performers as a commentary on consciousness, landscape, architecture, meditation, and, of course, waiting.
Ernesto Pujol
The piece, also part of his residency at the University, has participation from visual arts and dance students, as well as the work of local artist Rosi Hayes, who is designing a soundtrack for the piece. Pujol did undergraduate work in humanities, visual arts, art history, philosophy and theology, and graduate work in education, art therapy, communications and media theory. He has an MFA in interdisciplinary art studio practice from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
But it's his meditative work that stands out in "Awaiting." Each performer brings his or her silent thoughts to the piece, communing with the audience, which forms a "permeable urban cloister wall, the outer circle of the performance, completing it with their own patient, silent thoughts as they witness it," Pujol said.
The performance runs overnight from 6 p.m. April 8 to 7 a.m. April 9 at the Utah State Capitol. For more information, visit the performance site.
Become a fan of The Leonardo on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!
Become a fan of The Leonardo on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!
Labels: art, dance, performance, university
Jann Haworth
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Intern
Her artwork started with soft sculptures that are sewn and stuffed. Many of these sculptures, like "Donut" and "Shirley Temple, W.C. Fields and Mae West" examine American culture.
A collection of Haworth's most popular pieces have been restored and are now currently on display until April 10 at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery in Wolverhampton, England. Be sure to check out "SLC Pepper" up close, across from the Gateway mall on 400 West between 200 and 300 South -- how many people can you identify?
Become a fan of The Leonardo on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!
Become a fan of The Leonardo on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!
The Leo on Wheels: Sunset Ridge and South Hills
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Blog entry by Ian McClintick, from The Leo on Wheels staff
The Leo on Wheels recently visited Sunset Ridge Middle School and South Hills Middle School. At both visits we noticed a large gap in the nearby mountains. If you are local, you know that that gap is the site of the Bingham Canyon Mine. The science and the history of the mine are both interesting and important to Utah.
In its earlier years, the mine employed countless immigrants to Utah, shaping the current cultural heritage of the state by attracting Norwegians, Italians, Greeks, Mexicans and others to work at the mine and live in the town of Bingham (which no longer exists because the ground it stood on was cleared away in the mine's later expansion!).
Utah Copper Company mill circa 1910
(photo from Utah State History collection)
If The Leo on Wheels staff decided to visit the mine during our lunch break, we would have seen a hole about 2.75 miles across and 0.75 miles deep. If we wanted to hike to the bottom of the mine, we would have had to walk down the 500 miles of road in the mine...and probably wouldn't have made it back for the next class. The Bingham mine has produced 18.1 million tons of copper -- more than any other mine in history.
Bingham mine as it looks today
(photo from Wikipedia Commons)
The technology used to process the copper, molybdenum, gold, and silver at the rate and scale of the Bingham mine is impressive. Once mined, the material is transported by a fleet of 70 trucks that can each carry 255 tons of material. The trucks carry the material to a conveyer, which then travels through a 5-mile tunnel in the Oquirrh Mountains to the Copperton Concentrator at the southern end of the Great Salt Lake. The concentrator crushes the mined material which then goes through a floatation process that separates waste from the minerals.
So next time you take a look at the Oquirrh Mountains and see that break in the peaks, think about the Bingham Mine and the technology over the ridge. If you feel like learning more about the mine take a drive up there and take the tour, I guarantee you’ll be impressed and surprised with the science and history of the Bingham Mine.
Labels: education, science, The Leo on Wheels
Cloaking
Monday, March 8, 2010
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Intern
Humans see only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and we are "see" an object when light bounces off of it into our eyes. To mimic or create invisibility, there are several ways you can can disrupt the process of "seeing" an object.
Let's start with this simplest: camouflage. Animals, soldiers, and hunters use it everyday. Wilderness settings are relatively easy to blend into, but what if you want to blend into a more complicated terrain? You could mimic artist and extreme camouflage-er, Liu Bolin, who paints himself to blend in with his surroundings.
Check out more of Bolin's art here.
But what if you need to blend in at a moment's notice? The folks over at the Tachi Laboratory at the University of Tokyo have developed an invisibility cloak of sorts. The cloak films objects behind you and projects them onto your jacket so you will blend into any background.
These are all just optical illusions, but scientists are well on the way to true invisibility. To make an object truly invisible, the waves need to pass through an object with no interference. Scientists from all over the world have been developing different ways to make objects invisible. Most of these researchers focus on meta-materials that let waves pass through with little interference.
But researchers at the University of Utah have taken a different approach to developing cloaking devices, and University of Utah mathematics professor Graeme Milton hopes to achieve the ultimate goal of true invisibility from all visible light. Milton's team has an object that generates waves to cloak an object from oncoming waves. The technology may also be used to protect buildings from earthquakes by deflecting seismic waves.
Become a fan of The Leonardo on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!
Labels: art, events, technology, university
From Helix to Healthcare
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Intern
The Leonardo After Hours: Energy Revolution event in Logan last week was a huge success with a ton of audience participation. Thanks to our presenters and our host, The Italian Place, which supplied nourishment (energy!) for the crowd. Take a look at our recap video, with interviews with all three presenters:
If you missed us in Logan, catch us next week in Salt Lake City. Leonardo After Hours: From Helix to Healthcare will look at genetic research and personal healthcare on Tuesday, March 9.
Our presenters are Jeff Botkin, the University of Utah's Associate VP for Research; Julie R. Korenberg, a USTAR professor of pediatric genetics at the University of Utah; and Jennifer Logan, the program director for personalized health care at the University of Utah's Eccles Institute of Human Genetics. The presenters will talk about how your genetic profile can help a doctor shape your health care in a hyper-personalized way, and what that means for patients, physicians and the health-care industry.
The event runs 5:30 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 9 at the Olive Bistro at 57 W. 200 South. RSVP to Chris Davies at 801-531-9800 or rsvp@theleonardo.org -- but hurry because only a few spots are left!
Labels: events, Leo, locals, science, technology, USTAR, video
The Leo Social Network