Event 1 - From Forces to Form #1

This weekend I attended the virtual event “From Forces to Form” presented at the Pratt Institute’s Manhattan Gallery. This exhibition focused on recognizing scientific practices are often taken for granted and under appreciated, by representation through art. The projects shown were cleverly designed and required a lot of effort.

Chotai, Vivek. Screenshot of an introduction to the exhibition. Manhattan, 2 Apr. 2022.

One project looked at the wave patterns of Earth, titled “1.8” to represent the 1.8 microseconds that Earth shifted because of the Japan 2011 earthquake and tsunami. This project was created by Janet Echelman, and became so popular that it was put into the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC, even seen by former first lady Michelle Obama (Echelman). 

Chotai, Vivek. Screenshot of Janet Echelman's "1.8". Manhattan, 2 Apr. 2022.

Another project, by Adam Brown and Robert Root-Bernsteir, focused on representing the origin of life (“ReBioGeneSys – Origins of Life”). This origin of life can be represented by a chemical reaction, as discovered by Stanley Miller (Bada). As a molecular biology major, this project was one of my favorites. It helped me understand the reactions thought to have taken place to spark life. To think that life was created from a reaction of non living components, it makes me question at what point something can be considered living or nonliving.

Chotai, Vivek. Screenshot of the chemical reaction behind the origin of life. Manhattan, 2 Apr. 2022.

This art component of this project was that the chemical reaction was shown physically, inspired by the art of sculpture.

Chotai, Vivek. Screenshot of the representation of the origin of life. Manhattan, 2 Apr. 2022.

When thinking about how this event relates to the course material, it’s very clear that the gap between art and science can be bridged. Art was used to communicate fundamental scientific ideas through these projects. I would definitely recommend my classmates to attend this event if they are interested in chemistry or color. Many of the projects were not only interesting, but also boasted the appreciation of forces through color. Attending this event would benefit anyone who wants to be able to see real life examples of using art to explain science. As stated in my week 1 blog, I think using art with science enhances both fields. Using art in science helps explain complex processes, and using science in art helps form patterns.



Proof of attendance:


Works Cited

Bada, Jeffrey. “Stanley L. Miller - National Academy of Sciences.” Biographical Memoirs, National Academy of Sciences, http://nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/miller-stanley.pdf. 

Center, Art|Sci, director. From Forces to Forms: Episode 1 “Laws of Nature.” Vimeo, 3 Apr. 2022, https://vimeo.com/692460809. Accessed 3 Apr. 2022.

Echelman, Janet. “About.” Janet Echelman, https://www.echelman.com/about.

“From Forces to Forms: Episode 1 ‘Laws of Nature.’” From Forces to Forms: Episode 1 "Laws of Nature" | UCLA Art | Sci Center + Lab, UCLA Art | Sci Center, https://artsci.ucla.edu/node/1573.

“ReBioGeneSys – Origins of Life.” Adam W Brown, http://adamwbrown.net/projects-2/rebiogenesys-origins-of-life/.

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