Junctures - The Journal for Thematic Dialogue
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Glistens with Nectar
Get PDF“To glisten with nectar”—to allude to the title of the artists’ book associated with this project — conjures up an image of moisture-laden, seductive abundance, like a carpet of winter snow shimmering in sunlight. However, it is not sunlight that informs this project, but the hours of darkness on the subantarctic islands. Plant evolutionary biologist Janice Lord studies the insects that visit the megaherbs endemic to this region during the night and investigates their prospects as plant pollinators. Megaherbs, with their large leaves and brightly coloured flowers, are a group of herbaceous perennial wildflowers that have adapted to survive the extreme weather conditions on the islands. An insect of particular interest to Lord is the nocturnal Campbell Island wētā, Notoplectron campbellensis, belonging to the orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae that includes the cave wētā, an insect endemic to New Zealand
Art, Science and the Viewing Public: Illuminating Observations from “Art and Light” Viewers
Get PDF“Art and Light” was the third iteration of the art and science collaborations between the Dunedin School of Art and the University of Otago. Both informal and formal evaluation has shown that these collaborations work well for the scientists and the artists involved, with both parties experiencing mutual stimulation (see Scope: Art and Design 9, November, 2014, 142-151). But what impact do these collaborative projects have on the viewing public
Artfully Exploring Quantum Physics
Get PDFThe Art and Light Project has successfully brought together artists and scientists from across the Dunedin community and created a forum for dialogue and understanding. Some beautiful art has been created which culminated in a well-attended exhibition at the Otago Museum. More than 60 years ago, C.P. Snow wrote4 in his wonderful little book of warning, The Two Cultures, that “There seems to be no place where the cultures meet. I am not going to waste time saying that this is a pity. It is much worse than that.” This exercise has attempted to bridge a little of that gap between the cultures of science and the arts. Moreover, I think that both artists and scientists alike would agree that the distinction is an artificial one. To illustrate this we have tried to express in this article the similarities in method and thought between creation—for they are both creative processes—in art and science.Moreover, the science we have tried to portray through this art and this article can be difficult to grasp. The exhibition itself has been a vehicle that has enabled us to engage with an audience that would not perhaps normally be exposed to quantum science. As a public outreach and educational exercise, this project has therefore been a resounding success. More importantly, it was a lot of fun
[Sur] face: The Subjectivity of Space
Get PDFIn this article, I discuss the public installation [Sur]face, held in 2011 in the Dunedin School of Art Gallery, with regard to contemporary interdisciplinary practice and its engagement with modernist practices. It employed the language of architecture, through concepts of façade, decoration and threshold, in relation to notions of the body. Here I emphasise how light was addressed in the exhibition as liminal space