Contact: Lisa Davis, 801/230-?9399
ldavis@theleonardo.org
The Leonardo Announces New Exhibit; Special Spring Pricing
Think Art – Act Science Opens May 5; Features Dancing Robots, a Sonic Fresco
Also New: Fantastic Fabrications Celebrates the Playful Side of Invention
Special Spring Price: Visitors Can Enjoy More Exhibits for Just $9
SALT LAKE CITY, May 1, 2012—The Leonardo (www.theleonardo.org), a contemporary museum in downtown Salt Lake City connecting science, technology and creativity, today announced the opening of a new exhibition, Think Art – Act Science, as well as special spring pricing on admission.
Beginning Saturday May 5, visitors can experience Think Art – Act Science, a collection of eight installations created by international artists as part of the “Swiss artists-?in-?labs” (http://artistsinlabs.ch) program. This unique initiative places artists into long-?term residencies alongside scientific researchers. The exhibit has been on display in Lucerne, Barcelona, San Francisco, and now Salt Lake City.
The works in Think Art – Act Science (http://thinkartactscience.com) explore topics like ecology, environment, quantum physics and nanotechnology in surprising ways. Fish Skin is a “sonic fresco,” with miniature speakers and piano strings arranged in waves. A short film titled The Rocket for the Rest of Us ties major inventions of the past to the construction of the world’s first solar-?powered rocket. And When I Woke Up the Sun Had Moved treats visitors to nine “dancing” robots creating digital trails that are projected live.
Mingle with, Learn from International Artists
In addition to the exhibition, visitors to The Leonardo can enjoy a range of supporting events:
FRIDAY, MAY 4
Live Sound Performance, 8:30 p.m.
Get a sneak peek at the new exhibit and enjoy a live sound performance that explores the interactions between materials and sound with Think Art – Act Science Artist Alexandre Joly. The artist’s experimental techniques will give you an experience in uncommon ways of hearing.
Cost: Free with admission.
SATURDAY, MAY 5
Workshop: Landscape of Identity, 12 – 1 p.m.
Work with Think Art – Act Science Artist Alina Mnatsakanian to create a narrative map of your movement and emotional journey through life and how it’s effected by natural landscape, climate, emotional landscape, and familial landscape. By using your own experiences, you’ll will create a visual and written timeline. Cost: Free with admission. Space is limited. Register by calling 801.531.9800 ext. 201. Second floor gallery.
Workshop: Sound Landscapes, 2 – 3 p.m. If you could see sound, what would it look like? Think Art – Act Science artist Alexandre Joly talks about the relationship between sound and image, and invites you to help him create a sound landscape using tiny speakers called “piezos.” Cost: Free with admission. Space is limited. Please register in advance by calling 801.531.9800 ext. 201. Second floor gallery.
Panel Discussion: Creative Collisions, 5:30 p.m.
While art and science have been viewed as separate disciplines in the past, there is an emerging interest in art-?science collaborations and cross-?disciplinary projects in general. What is fueling this new movement? Will our future require an updated version of the “Renaissance Man/Woman”? Our guest experts will share their perspectives on art and science, the common ground between them, and differences in approach and practice. Panelists include: Think Art – Act Science curator Irène Hediger, Think Art – Act Science transmedia artist Alina Mnatsakanian, and ecologist Dr. Nalini Nakarni and interdisciplinary artist and educator Ellen Bromberg – both from the University of Utah.
Cost: FREE! Third floor auditorium.
For more information, visit www.theleonardo.org.
Think Art – Act Science is generously supported by swissnex San Francisco (http://swissnexsanfrancisco.org), the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia (http://www.prohelvetia.ch) and the Zurich University of the Arts, and is a project of the U.S.-?wide program ThinkSwiss-?Brainstorm the Future (http://thinkswiss.org/). Think Art – Act Science is presented at The Leonardo by XMission.
Special Spring Pricing
The Leonardo is also introducing special spring pricing. Starting May 5, visitors can enjoy the exhibit, as well as other new shows and activities at The Leonardo, for just $9 for adults, and $7 for children ages 6 – 17, seniors and students. Admission for children 5 and younger is still free. The Leonardo will continue to offer all tickets for $7 on Wednesdays.
Also New at The Leo
The Leonardo also welcomes a new gallery show, Fantastic Fabrications: Marvels from an Invented Past, which brings together three collections and a hands-?on Tinkering Studio to give visitors a variety of imaginative ways to see and experience invention.
Based on Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett’s acclaimed book, Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel, the Boilerplate portion of the show chronicles the adventures of a fictitious robot and his role in actual historical events.
In Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention, Guinan and Bennett revive actual historic images from the world’s first science fiction periodicals, and pair them with an imagined story of the Reades, a family of intrepid inventors who explore the world in their steam-?powered helicopter, airships and submarines.
The Lost Tools of Henry Hoke is an assembly of artifacts created by fictional Australian inventor Henry Hoke. The world of Hoke is a humorous version of reality, twisting the English language and fabricating fictional objects to create tongue-?in-?cheek “useless inventions.”
On Saturday, May 5, Guinan and Bennett will be at The Leonardo to sign books and talk with visitors. In June, they will return for a residency in the Lab @ Leo, which brings experts in a variety of areas – from design and photography, to design and multimedia – into a studio setting to share their talents with visitors.
