ART|SCIENCE PROJECTS

2007 - Blue Morph - is an interactive installation that uses nanoscale images and sounds derived from the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Nanotechnology is changing our perception of life and this is symbolic in the Blue Morpho butterfly with the optics involved -- that beautiful blue color is not pigment at all but patterns and structure. The lamellate structure of their wing scales has been studied as a model in the development of fabrics, dye-free paints, and anti-counterfeit technology such as that used in monetary currency. Victoria Vesna and James Gimzewski in collaboration with Gil Kuno, Sarah Cross Production: Shaun Westbrook, Tyler Adams, Laura Hernandez Photo Documentation: Adam Stieg, Brenda Williams, Yuta Nakayama

2006 - Water Bowls - Four water bowls reflect different aspect of water related to our connected human condition. Some of the most common metaphors of water such as the reflection of the moon, a drop of water, sound of water and oil and water are revisited using some of the latest scientific observations as the source... Project Team: Victoria Vesna, James Gimzewski, Tyler Adams, John Houck, Osman Khan, Paul Wilinson, Anne Niemetz, John Rooney, Morrow Pettigrew

2004 - Nanomandala - The Nanomandala is an installation by media artist Victoria Vesna, in collaboration with nanoscience pioneer James Gimzewski. The installation consists of a video projected onto a disk of sand, 8 feet in diameter. Visitors can touch the sand as images are projected in evolving scale from the molecular structure of a single grain of sand - achieved my means of a scanning electron microscope (SEM)- to the recognizable image of the complete mandala, and then back again.

2004 - Cell Ghosts - This work captures the viewer moving through space with a live camera, with their image projected in particles that is stored in memory and appear later as a ghost. The person passing by also activates text. The ambient sounds are a composition of data derived from manipulating live biological cells. The piece was originally conceived site specifically for an exhibition held at the former Seodaemun prison in Seoul, Korea. Installation: Victoria Vesna, Cell composition: Jim Gimzewski, Software art: Glen Murphy.
2003 - Nano - Two UCLA professors-media and net artist Victoria Vesna and nanoscience pioneer James Gimzewski-are at the forefront of the intersection of art and science. Their groundbreaking project, 'NANO', now on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Boone Children's Gallery, presents the world of nanoscience through a participatory aesthetic experience. The exhibition, a collaboration between LACMALab and a UCLA team of nanoscience, media arts, and humanities experts, is free to the public and runs through September 6, 2004. Project team.
2003 - Zero@Wavefunction - is one of a few collaborative art and science projects of Victoria Vesna, a media artist, and James Gimzewski, a nanoscientist. Both are professors at UCLA, home to the recently formed California Nano Systems Institute (CNSI). They first started their dialogue during a conference entitled ‘from Networks to Nanosystems’ in November 2001. Soon thereafter, Gimzewski opened his lab to Victoria Vesna and together they initiated a number of projects whose goal is to make nanoscience more accessible and understandable to the broader public. At the same time they are interested engaging the audience in probing larger philosophical questions about the impact of this emerging science on the culture at large. Josh Nimoy: Software Artist, Pete Conolly: Sensor Artist, Li Xu: Web Designer

EXHIBITIONS

in collaboration with Victoria Vesna

SELECTED ART/SCI PUBLICATIONS

“Nanotechnology: The Endgame of Materialism,” James K. Gimzewski. Leonardo 41(3), 259-264 (2008).

“Nanotecnologia. L’último carta del materialisme: la metamorfosi de l’atomisme i la revolució de la creativitat” in Física de l’estètica: Noves fronteres de la ciència, l’art i el pensament.  J. K. Gimzewski.  55-81 (KRTU, Barcelona, 2006) Published in Catalan, translated by Xavier Pàmies. “Nanotechnology. The end game of materialism: metamorphosis to the atomistic and the revolution of creativity” in Physics of aesthetics: New boundaries of science, art and thought.

“The Future,” in Engineering Nature: Art and Consciousness in the Post-Biological Era (Ed. R. Ascott). J. K. Gimzewski and V. Vesna. 311-328 (Intellect, Bristol, 2006).

“NANO: An Exhibition of Scale and Senses,” J.K. Gimzewski and V. Vesna. Leonardo, 38(4), (2005) 310-311.

 

SELECTED ART/SCI TALKS

Honoris Causa acceptance speech, “Scanning Probe Microscopy: From Atoms to Cells,” University of Aix-Marseille II, November 27, 2008.

“Nanomedicine,” CINaM-CNRS, Campus de Luminy, University of Aix-Marseille II, France, November 27, 2008.

“Blue Morph,” (with Victoria Vesna), Centre for Contemporary Art Laznia in Gdansk, Poland, Novemeber 24, 2008.

“The Age of Nanotechnology,” The Institute of Engineering and Technology, London, UK, July 8, 2008.

“The Age of Nanotechnology,” Naughton Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, July 7, 2008.

“Blue Morph: ritual metamorphosis of art|science realms,” (with Victoria Vesna), The Planetary Collegium’s IXth International Research Conference, Vienna, Austria, July 3-5, 2008.

Keynote lecture at exhibition opening (with Victoria Vesna), “Nano, Poetics of a New World/Nano, Poética de um Mundo Novo,” FAAP Brazilian Art Museum, São Paulo, Brazil, April 13, 2008.

“Blue Morph: Surges of Nanocellular Transformations,” (with Victoria Vesna) MutaMorphosis: Challenging Arts and Sciences, International Centre for Art and New Technologies (CIANT), Czech Republic, November 8, 2007.

“Nanomechanics in Medicine,” CRMCN-CNRS, Campus de Luminy, University of Marseille, France, July 19, 2007.

“Blue Morph,” Bibliotheque de l’Alcazar, Marseille, France, Jul 18, 2007.

“Nano: The Role of Technology in the Future,” The First Summit Meeting of the Planetary Collegium, Montreal, Canada, April 21, 2007.

“Morphing Art and Science Labs: Negotiating Unknown Terrain,” (with Victoria Vesna) College Art Association 95th Annual Conference, New York, NY, February 17, 2007.

“Nano,” public lecture (with Victoria Vesna), Singapore Science Centre, Singapore. January 2, 2007.

Panelist/speaker, Technology Forecast 2007, Technolink Association, Los Angeles, CA, December 13, 2006.

“Robotics and Nanotechnology on the Atomic and Molecular Scale,” The 7th International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR), New York, NY, July 17, 2006.

“Nanotechnology: The Ultimate End Game?” Department of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, May 25, 2006.

“Nano-Fusion,” Future in Review (FiRe) A Strategic News Service Conference, San Diego, CA, May 17, 2006.

“Nanotechnology: The Ultimate End Game?” Department of Chemistry Graduate Student Association, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, April 27, 2006.

“Thinking Atoms,” panelist (with Victoria Vesna), Art|Sci Center, University of California, Los Angeles, April 19, 2006.

“Nanotechnology: The End Game of Materialism?” Society of Cosmetic Chemists California Chapter, Los Angeles, CA, February 28, 2006.

“Sonocytology,” The Mindful Awareness Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles, January 30, 2006.

“Nanoarchitectonics: Butterflies Fly in the Rain,” National Institute of Materials Science, Japan, December 12-19, 2005.

“Nanoarchitectonic and Nanomechanical Approaches to Biological Systems,” Corning Corporation, Corning, NY, Decemeber 6, 2005.

“Futures of Design,” Physics of Aesthetics, University of Barcelona and Fundacion Caixa de Catalunya and Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, September 5-8, 2005.

“Biologically Inspired Morphing Structures,” US Insitute of Defense Analysis Meeting, Alexandria, VA, August 25-26, 2005.

“Nanomechanics,” seminar, Frontiers of Science Program, New York Academy of Sciences, New York, NY, March 3, 2005.

“Science of Scientist,” California Science Center, Los Angeles, CA, February 17, 2005.

“Schrödinger’s Cell Phone,” Consciousness Reframed – Qi and Complexity. The Planetary Collegium, Beijing, China, November 24-27, 2004.

Keynote address, Seeing at the Nanoscale II International Conference, Grenoble, France, October 13- 15, 2004.

Partcipant, Strategies for Public Engagement in Nanoscale Science and Engineering, National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, September 2-3, 2004.

"Nanomechanics from Molecules to Cells to Butterflies,” Public Presentation on Nanotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - Chung Chi College - Department of Electronic Engineering & Faculty of Science, Hong Kong, June 24, 2004.

“Where will the next wave of technology take us...?”Technolink Technology Trends Forum 2004, panel member, Los Angeles, CA, June 8, 2004

“The Role of the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) and NASA Center on converging
Technologies (CMISE)” National Nanotechnology Initiative, Washington, DC, April 2, 2004.

“Nano,” Docent Lecture, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), February 10, 2004.

“Nano,” Arts Encounter Program, University of California, Los Angeles, January 21, 2004.

“Nanotechnology,” Talk of the Nation: Science, National Public Radio (NPR), Panelist, September 26, 2003.

"Carbon Versus Silicon: Thinking Small / Thinking Fast,” Senior Artist in Residence and Panel Moderator, Electronics and Nanotechnology, Banff Center for the Arts, Banff, Canada, August 6-11, 2003.

Keynote address, Visionary Forum 2003: Nanotechnology and Beyond - The convergence of technological innovation with the influential creativity of art and design, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, July 22, 2003.

“Zero@wavefunction: nano dreams & nightmares,” Nano All Around Us: Technical Conference & Public NanoExpo on Nanotechnology in Our Lives, University of Wisconsin, Madison, May 30-31, 2003.

“Zero@wavefunction: nano dreams & nightmares” Art & Science Collaborations, ArtSci 2002 International Symposium (in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History and the Graduate Center of CUNY), New York, NY, December 6-8, 2002

“Zero@wavefunction: nano dreams & nightmares” Intel Presentation at the Visualization Portal, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, November 5, 2002.

“Nanoarchitectonics” International Symposium on NT-BT-IT Fusion Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Seoul, Korea, October 21, 2002

Keynote Speaker, “The Economist Innovation Awards Summit” The Economist Magazine Conference Roundtable: Innnovation in Nanotechnology, San Francisco, CA, September 18, 2002

“Nanoarchitectonics,” Weissberger-Williams Lecture, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, April 11, 2002

“Japan Meets the Nano Republic of California,” panel member, US-Japan Hi-Tech Partnership, The Japan American Society, Torrance, CA, February 15, 2002.

“Molecular Dreams? “The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR), Nanoelectronics Winter Workshop on Architecture, Val Morin, Quebec, Canada, February 1, 2002.

“From Silicon Sensors to Nanotechnology” BioFinance Round Table, The Wall Street Journal Europe, Dow Jones, Inc., London, September 11, 2001.

“Chemistry; The expectations of Industry and the Challenges for Research” Société Francaise de Chimie, November 2000

The Open University, United Kingdom “The Next big Thing” BBC Television, May 2000.

International Symposium on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology “Single Molecule Machines, Mechanics and Quantum Electronics” Zichron Ya’akov, Israel May 2000

Keynote Speaker, Nantotechnology and Quantum Computing, 3rd International Euspen Conference, May 2000

“Nanoelectronics and Molecular Manipulation – Extreme Nanotechnology,” The Royal Institute, London, UK, June 5, 2000.

“Working with Individual Designer Molecules from the Inside and the Outside,” Richard B. Bernstein Memorial Lecture, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, November 23, 1998.

“Engineering with Single Molecules. Architectures of Tomorrow,” 8th Annual Pittsburgh Conference Lectures, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, PA, February 5, 1998.

 

 

Top