Tag Archives: art

Teach Arts & Sciences Together – Astronaut Mae Jemison

In this video, Dr. Mae Jemison, physician and former NASA astronaut, talks about what is critical to a better future–and by future, she means, “In the year 2015, and the year 2020, 2025, the world our society is going to be building on, the basic knowledge and abstract ideas, the discoveries that we came up with today.”  This TED Talk was recorded in 2002, however her speech seems to resonate more than ever with what is currently going on in the world.  So listen up, all you societal contributors!  This message is important and should be applied today as we work to build our legacy for tomorrow.

The ideology that science and art are separate–this polarization, hinders the ability to create progress, experience and humanity for the future.  Dr. Jemison argues that they are “manifestations of the same thing.”  She goes on to say, “Science provides an understanding of universal experience and arts provides an understanding of a personal experience.  They are all part of us.”  Art is thought to be intuitive, and science is considered analytical.  Art is also analytical. According to Dr. Jemison, the ability to launch the shuttle is derived from the same place as choreographing a dance.  When choreographing a dance, upon hearing the music, one might first intuitively come up with an expressive movement.  The creation is then analyzed and refined to convey the right communication to the audience.  A scientist can think of an equation first, and then analyze it to see if it will work.

Why is it so important for everyone to understand that these two subjects coexist?  It effects how we think, how we learn, and how we create and contribute to society.  Dr. Jemison explains, “My personal issue for the future is really about integrating the intuitive and analytical.  The arts and scientists are not separate.  I like to think of ideas as potential energy.  They are really wonderful but nothing will happen without risking putting those ideas into action.  The three questions of greatest concern “is it attractive (intuitive), is it amusing (analytical) and does it know its place (balance)?”

Written by Amy DeCaussin

Director of Projects & Social Media

Laboratory5 Inc. is a small business based in Tempe, Arizona

Visit our website: Laboratory5       Follow us on Twitter: @lab5     Become a fan on Facebook: Laboratory5
Contact Us at anytime – we’d love to hear from you

Leave a comment

Fraley’s Robot Repair Shop

Robot 63 from toby fraley on Vimeo.

Multimedia Artist Toby Atticus Fraley set up a “Fraley’s Robot Repair Shop” in the Pittsburg International Airport.  For 17 months folks stepping off their flights could explore this whimsical installation.  Here is an opportunity to bring the project back!  Toby launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the shop’s return.  The space he is planning to install it in is three times the size of the original location.  75e10ffa21d326b76ce4cd9a1615e811_original
The campaign has been very successful, but if you jump on board, you will receive some cool prizes! (Like the ones shown below.)
8d164fe0d0e9f481b9c08897fdcda3cc_original e60199beb09816222ac4918c428bdee6_original a7bb732f4984d7b19f5bf1b58673744d_original d671a58531d049bdae0b3c145a457183_original 79f673faa7cc0db661e512a24895cb75_original

Laboratory5 Inc. is a small business based in Tempe, Arizona

Visit our website: Laboratory5       Follow us on Twitter: @lab5     Become a fan on Facebook: Laboratory5
Contact Us at anytime – we’d love to hear from you

Leave a comment

STEAM Artist Sean Deckert @ The Lodge – THIS FRIDAY ONLY

Written by Amy DeCaussin
Director of Projects & Social Media

Sean_Deckert_SM_022

I had the opportunity to sit down with Sean Deckert while he is in the midst of a very busy schedule.  He is in the process of moving to Los Angeles this week as well as hang up his gallery show at The Lodge Art Studio on Grand Ave. in Phoenix.  While we sat and talked at Lux coffee shop, a handful of different folks came by and said hello.  I got the sense that Sean has a pretty strong network here in Phoenix and that he is well liked in the community.  After our brief chat it wasn’t difficult to see why.  Sean has deep waters running through him.  He has a genuine concern for the environment as well as a love for beauty.  There is a peaceful tone to his personality as he explains that his work is not about shoving facts down people’s throats, but rather generating thoughts and conversations around his chosen subject.Sean_Deckert_SM_033

The show this Friday, “Phoenix Retrospect” is centered around his time in Phoenix and his series “Smoke in Mirrors,” a project he created while attending Arizona State University.  “Smoke in Mirrors” addresses the concept of Urban Heat Island or UHI.  According to National Geographic, a UHI is a “city area that is always warmer than the surrounding area.”  This is due to many factors including building walls and cement surfaces, lack of vegetation and a concentration of motorized vehicles.  Phoenix, sitting in a desert valley is a a great location to explore this concept.  Sean’s body of work provokes thought on the subject through holographic photography that hangs in the gallery space, apart from the wall creating a more rounded presentation.  The images feature a dust storm tearing through the city and he wants the viewer to have an interactive experience as they move through the space. The images change as the viewer moves around.  Sean’s goal is to keep people thinking about these environmental events which are fleeting with the passage of time and the change of seasons.  They continue to recur, however, and are believed to be caused by problems that are not so fleeting.

Smoke & Mirrors | Eye Lounge installation | Phoenix, AZ from Sean Deckert on Vimeo.

Sean’s artwork lends itself to the concept of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).  Through various projects, he has discovered that keeping balance between the STEM and the art component are a challenge.  Finding resources for the science information can be time-consuming and expensive.  In one of his projects, “PULS” he purchased a very expensive infrared camera. He blended the images with traditional photography in order to show how the effects that reflection caused by man-made surfaces can create extra heat in urban areas.  He ended up contacting the camera manufacturer to acquire software which he used to create data analysis.

Sean presented his work at the Society for Photographic Education in San Francisco, CA.  The curators liked his project “Smoke in Mirrors” but felt that “PULS” was too scientific.  It can be difficult for a project that tightly binds art and science together to be accepted in the art world.  We often make sense of the world by placing everything into categories, boxes.  When something falls into more than one box, there is a sense of confusion.  That is the problem with projects that are centrally STEAM focused.  The audience requires a lot of education in order to understand what they are seeing.  All of this is time-consuming and for Sean, it pulls the focus away from the original passion, art. The feedback he received molded the direction that he wishes to take in the future.  Although Sean will continue to focus on scientific and environmental themes, moving forward, his work will generally belong in a gallery setting.

Sean’s gallery show at The Lodge will only be up for 24 hours before he heads out of town.  The solo show will include lenticulars, video, sculpture, silver gelatin prints, Polaroids & time-lapse prints.  Head downtown to The Lodge to check it out.

Sean Deckert – Phoenix Retrospective

Friday, May 1st 7:00pm-10:30pm

The Lodge

1231 NW Grand Ave

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Laboratory5 Inc. is a small business based in Tempe, Arizona

Visit our website: Laboratory5       Follow us on Twitter: @lab5     Become a fan on Facebook: Laboratory5
Contact Us at anytime – we’d love to hear from you

 

Leave a comment