Anna Bliss
Thursday, August 27, 2009
We're always on the lookout for great locals who combine art and science. Those two disciplines inspire the art of local art matriarch Anna Campbell Bliss. Anna's first solo show in five years, showing at the Art Barn until Sept. 11, combines digital printing with traditional painting, all building on themes of science and mathematics.
Good news for local art fans, too: Black Opal Productions is putting together a documentary about this woman's fascinating life and storied career: "ARC of LIGHT: A Portrait of Anna Campbell Bliss." (We can't embed this particular link, but do watch -- Anna is brilliant.)
Octogenarian Bliss recently overcame a year-long period of blindness, following with cataract surgery, an experience that she compared to "coming out of solitary confinement." Her career in the state stretches back decades, though, and includes several public art pieces at major buildings around town, such as the University of Utah's Cowles Building on Presidents Circle and the State Capitol Building.
A detail from "Extended Vision" in the Cowles Building
A couple of us at The Leonardo had the pleasure of chatting with Anna recently and she reassured us that she has at least a good 10 years left in her -- she has a lot she wants to accomplish and intends to continue her role as a self-proclaimed "misfit locally" in the art scene. We're also looking forward to forging a partnership with her for The Leo building down the road.
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Shrinking a quarter
Thursday, August 20, 2009
It needs to be said: this entry is most certainly, certifiably in the "do not try this at home" category. Please don't.
A massive electrical current creates a magnetic current in the coil, which creates an opposing magnetic field in the coin. The two fields cause the coin's material to contract and compact -- no volume or weight is lost, but the coin is smaller in diameter and thicker.
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But please do drool over electromagnetic forming with me. There are folks out there with the gear, the time and the wherewithal to shrink coins. As for motive, what's better than "because I can"?
Hackerbot Labs in south Seattle (sample mottos: "Like prom night, for your warranty" and "Trespassers will be used for scientific experimentation") and Intellectual Venture Labs posted a couple of video gems on the coin shrinking process.
Coin Shrinking from Jeremy Ruhland on Vimeo.
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Labels: DIY, science, technology
The Artys
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Leonardo is thrilled to be up for two Artys from the City Weekly this year -- the first is to vote for BODY WORLDS 3 as the best traveling exhibit of 2008, and the second is to vote for The Leonardo-sponsored play, "di Esperienza," as best original play.
In case you need a recap, here's our BODY WORLDS site, complete with a run-down of the exhibit, the programs and events we ran concurrent with the exhibit, and all your favorite imagery from the world-class exhibit.
"di Esperienza" was commissioned by The Leonardo and produced by Plan B Theatre Company this spring. In the play, three of Leonardo da Vinci's famous artworks confront him at the end of his life. Matthew Ivan Bennett wrote the piece, and here's a little more information about his work from Salt Lake Magazine:
Vote before August 24, and we'll share the good news of our awards (fingers crossed!) with you!
Bonneville Speed Week
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Bonneville Speed Week -- a collection of the craziest, fastest, most surreal races in the state -- starts this weekend. You've seen the Salt Flats in movies and photo shoots, but this lunar world takes on an entirely different milieu when covered with hundreds of DIY dragsters, a bevy of multi-colored umbrellas and the friendly faces of Speed Week's followers.
The Salt Flats are home to several land speed records, made possible by Utah's high desert altitude, and the extremely flat surface that is inhospitable to plant life and other barriers to a racer's ultimate goal. The Salt Flats are no secret (memorialized by an article in The New York Times here, a star turn in "The World's Fastest Indian," and regular features and photos in regional news media), but that makes them no less fascinating.
One of the best things about Speed Week is the DIY culture among racers. The majority of enthusiasts work solo or in small groups to perfect their home-grown cars, dragsters, motorcycles and other vehicles. Trial and error, a dauntless enthusiasm for the Flats, and near-obsessive tendencies combine for one amazing weekend of race after race.
This video from the 2007 races gets really good around the 2:00 mark (it's not ours, so please pardon anything strange -- like, say, the intro song lyrics). It gives a true sense of the DIY culture and life-long ambitions of racers to participate in Speed Week.
But this is the one that held me captivated at my desk -- a handlebars-eye-view of a motorcycle hitting 229 mph on a five-mile course. Once it gets going, you can watch the miles fly by and see the spectators distantly to the left of the course. And be sure to listen to the accompanying audio for the whine of the gears as the drive accelerates through the course.
So if you head out this weekend, be sure to strike up a conversation or five with the racers -- it's been my experience that they'll gladly geek out with you about their projects. You might even pick up a few tricks for the drive back to civilization. Just don't forget your sunblock.
Labels: DIY, locals, technology, video
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