WHAT IF...
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Fall 2009 Intern
We have all thought "What if..." at some point in our life. Asking this question allows us to get outside our boxes, and in the process, imagine and even achieve the impossible. The Science Gallery in Ireland turned that question into a new exhibit. "WHAT IF..." probes the space between reality and the impossible, where designers meet scientists to explore the future. The exhibit addresses many different questions like, "What if robots were designed from an emotional point of view?" and "What if insects could help us diagnose illness?"
"What if human tissue could be used to make objects?" explores the bioscience of reconstructive surgery, and then goes a step further to show how these same technologies used in operations are also used to make biojewellery. The exhibit shows how one couple used their bone tissue to create rings for each other.
The Science Gallery has created video summaries for each of the exhibits. There are so many more fantastic "WHAT IF..." exhibits so be sure to check them out! "WHAT IF..." runs until Dec. 13.
Labels: museum, science, technology, video
Victoria & Albert Museum
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Fall 2009 Intern
Digital plant from Daniel Brown's series, "Flowers."
"The Network," dissects traces of information we leave behind after using social networks. Programers developed a section that visualizes information, such as how bloggers are feeling based upon what they say in their blogs. "Code," looks at the digital coding we use to program. Artist Daniel Brown uses mathematics to generate a fluid growth of digital images that mimics plants found in nature. Much like "Ghost Interruptions," the "Interactivity" exhibit allows visitors to interact with different works. One of the featured exhibits is the Opto-Isolator, developed by Golan Levin, which is a robotic eye that follows the viewer's eye motions.
"Digital Designs Sensations" is an exhibit that goes alongside "Decode." It features early computer-generated designs, plotter drawings, screen prints and Ink Jet prints of art. You can also find art pieces scattered outside of the museum. The exhibition opens Dec. 8 and runs until April 11. If you can't catch a plane to London anytime soon the V&A will feature some of the exhibits online for you to check out!
Labels: art, museum, science, technology, video
The Leo on Wheels: Green River High School
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Blog entry by Ian McClintick from The Leo on Wheels staff
To most people Green River is just a pit stop on a journey elsewhere but just passing through Green River is a mistake. Green River is home to the John Wesley Powell River History Museum and the Vetere family, who have been growing melons in Green River for almost 100 years. The Veteres grow a variety of melons, including Casaba, Israeli, Crenshaw, Canary, orange and green honeydew, and, of course, watermelon.
Why, of all places, would a century-old, 100-acre melon farm be in Green River, Utah? The answer is climate and soil. The combination of cold nights and hot days increases the sugar content of the melons, creating that sweet product we all love. Melons also prefer to grow in sandy- to light-textured soils. The soil in Green River, which is in a desert and next to a large water supply, is perfect for growing a good melon. So next time you are on the road to Moab, stop by Green River pick up a melon at a Vetere melon stand, grab a half-pound burger from Ray’s Tavern, and enjoy the great company.
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Labels: education, locals, museum, The Leo on Wheels
Dana Centre
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Fall 2009 Intern
We often see examples of science inspiring art but the Dana Centre in London is finding ways where art inspires science. The Dana Centre, which opened in 2003, caters to an adult audience. The Centre hosts free monthly events where people can discuss and learn about current science issues. It even has different event styles to suit your learning needs, including "Vent Your Views," "Artistic License," "Test Lab," and "Face to Face."
Photo courtesy of Dana Centre
The Centre's website features many of their unique past events like An Experiment in Kissing, where an artist collected kisses as well as our emotional connection to music or Sleep Creative, where they looked at how to bring out your creative side while sleeping. One of my favorite events is the Beatbox Laboratory, where scientists explore how beatboxing works and how it can be made better.
Beatbox workshop
The Dana Centre even has a yearly poet-in-residence who writes poems based on events! If you happen to be in London anytime soon we highly suggest checking out the Dana Centre, and remember that most events are free but you must reserve a spot. (And, in the first year of The Leonardo we hope to bring you unique programming inspired by the Dana Centre.)
Labels: education, museum, science, technology
Sensate: Bodies and Design
Friday, September 4, 2009
Blog entry by Ambrea Kuhn, The Leonardo's Fall 2009 Intern
Like the BODY WORLDS exhibit, "Sensate" gives us a new perspective on the human body that we have never seen before. Every artist featured in the exhibit looked at the body in a different way and developed a unique design for each piece.
All photos from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Website
For "Sensate," the SFMOMA commissioned a new piece by Andrew Kudless. His design, "P_Wall," features two gallery walls covered in smooth plaster hills that represent how human skin expands to fit added pounds. A video on the museum's web site with Andrew shows the entire process from design to the finished product. (We can't embed this video but make sure you watch.)
The exhibit also features photographs by Aziz & Cucher where photographs of human skin are distorted to look like rooms. "Bone Cigarette Table," made in 1977 by John Dickinson, looks exactly as it sounds... a table with leg bones, instead of simply legs. One piece by Marcel Wandersan, looks almost like a human vertebrae until you read that it is a 3-D scan of snot as it is ejected during a sneeze.
So if you happen to be in or near the bay area this fall, be sure to wander through the gallery and check out the askew body parts at "Sensate"!
Round up
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
To combat our heat fatigue (and yours!), here are a couple of cool links to great stuff we've seen around the internet lately.
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First off is the SEED Magazine Mathematicians slideshow. I always imagined mathematicians toiling in relative obscurity in dusty corners of a campus' oldest building. But in this SEED slide show, the practitioners of the field get the high art treatment with intriguing portraits and audio narration describing the allure of the field. One person's inspiration was a dramatic pause in a conversation from her childhood, and another compares his work to a secret garden in which he grows beautiful theories. Creative minds find inspiration in and draw connections to everything. Please click through the link to the show, especially because I can't repost the entire show here.
The next highlight is this post from the Brooklyn Museum about sun bleaching an Arshile Gorky print from the museum's collection. The post shows the process step by step, including before photos, process photos and the "after" result. The museum has taken a routine conservator's task, brought it into the sun (literally and online, of course) and made it a fascinating glimpse into the behind-the-scenes work of a large institution.
The final entry in today's round up is the Indianapolis Museum of Art blog. The blog has a wide variety of voices from within the museum, some snarky, some hip, some straight-laced, but all entertaining and informative. They plug their local institutions and build links in their community and online. It's a great model and something to which The Leo aspires. Particular recent favorites include Look at all those Jiggawatts!, Echinacea Nation and Bicycles, Art and Robots (which served as inspiration for our recent Chalkbot post).
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