- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
One of the names proposed is the Da Vinci Institute.
To discuss the concept, a colloquium will take place from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday, March 16 in Room 3001 of the Plant Environmental Sciences Building. A reception will follow the discussions from 5 to 6 p.m.
"The program for the afternoon is designed to engage the scholars, scientists, and artists of the UC Davis community," said entomologist/artist Diane Ullman, professor of entomology in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. "What is the potential for a Da Vinci Institute on our campus? What kinds of program could such an institute generate?"
The keynote speaker will be Roger Malina, distinguished professor of art and technology, and professor of physics at the University of Texas (UT), Dallas. Since 1982, he has served as executive editor of the Leonardo Publications at MIT Press. He founded, and serves on the board of two nonprofits, Leonardo/ISAST in San Francisco and OLATS in Paris, which advocate and document the work of artists involved in contemporary science and technology.
Leonardo/ISAST is an acronym for the Leonardo/International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. OLATS is an acronym for Observatoire Leonardo pour les Arts et les Techno-Sciences.
Malina founded the ArtSciLab in the ATEC Program at UT Dallas in the fall of 2013. This transdisciplinary research lab hosts projects which involve in-depth collaboration between artists and scientists; the aim of the lab is to carry out research which results in art works, scientific data analysis tools, a technology testbed. In addition, the lab develops education activities involving the integration of the arts, design and humanities in science, technology, education and mathematics (STEAM).
The program agenda:
1:00-1:15 Introduction and Goals (Diane Ullman)
1:15-2:15 Keynote Address and Q&A (Roger Malina)
2:15-2:30 BREAK
2:30-3:00 Discussion Breakout Sessions Facilitated By Organizers
3:00-3:30 Large Group Summary Facilitated by Roger Malina and Diane Ullman
3:30-4:00 Discussion Breakout Sessions Facilitated By Organizers
4:00-4:30 Large Group Summary Facilitated by Roger Malina and Diane Ullman
4:30-5:00 Final Thoughts from Roger Malina and Next Steps (Organizers)
5:00-6:00 Reception
Those involved in the formation of the UC Davis based-project include
- Diane Ullman, professor of entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, who co-founded and co-directed the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program
- Terry Nathan, professor of atmospheric science, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources
- Wendy Silk, professor emerita of the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, and distinguished art scientist
- Colin Milburn, Gary Snyder Chair in Science and the Humanities; and professor of English, Science and Technology, and Cinema and Technocultural Studies, Department of English
- Petr Janata, professor in the Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain.
- Youngsuk Suh, co-chair of the Department of Art and Art History and associate professor of art
- Robin Hill, professor, Art Studio, Department of Art and Art History
- Timothy Hyde, assistant professor of art, Art Studio, Department of Art and Art History
- James Housefield. assistant professor of design, Department of Art and Art History
Those planning to attend should RSVP Diane Ullman at deullman@ucdavis.edu by March 14.
About Leonardo da Vinci: Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination." According to art historian Helen Gardner, the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote."--Wikipedia.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The event (LASER is an acronym for Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) is coordinated and moderated by Anna Davidson of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, which was co-founded by entomologist/artist Diane Ullman, professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick, now retired.
Davidson, currently seeking her master's degree in fine arts at UC Davis, received her Ph.D. earlier this year from UC Davis in plant sciences, studying plant ecophysiology. She continues to study the biological world using both artistic and scientific approaches.
The schedule:
6:30 to 7 p.m.
Socializing and networking
Venkatesan Sundaresan, a plant sciences professor at UC Davis, will speak on “Mysteries of the Silent Kingdom: Sticking to One's Roots, Managing Hormones and Spreading Genes”
Biography: Sundaresan, a professor in the UC Davis Plant Biology and Plant Sciences departments, for the past 10 years. did his undergraduate studies in India, graduate studies in the United States: Ph.D in biophysics (Harvard University,) and postdoctoral research in plant genetics (UC Berkeley). He carried out research on fundamental genetic mechanisms in plants, first as a faculty at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, then at Singapore as founding director of the Institute of Molecular Agrobiology. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he is also a Fulbright awardee, and served as program director (biological sciences) at the National Science Foundation. He is on on the editorial boards of several journals. Other interests: the arts, especially music, and its intersection with science.
Robin Hill, art professor at UC Davis, will speak on “Idea Cultivation in the Studio.”
Abstract: Hill will discuss the cultivation of ideas and approaches to making and meaning in her art work. Working with ideas of wonder and phenomena, Hill investigates the aesthetic properties of materials. She looks at how meaning is formed through the re-contextualization of familiar objects in unfamiliar configurations.
Biography: Hill is an artist and art professor at UC Davis. Her primary medium is sculpture, which crosses disciplinary boundaries. She makes objects, photographs, and drawings. She is interested in the ways in which two and three-dimensional art practices inform each other. Hill is represented by Lennon Weinberg, Inc., New York.
She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts, individual artist fellowship in sculpture, two Pollock-Krasner Foundation Fellowships, and two New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships. Hill is a former fellow of the Davis Humanities Institute for her research on "The Poetics and Politics of Place." Solo exhibitions include Multiplying the Variations, Lennon, Weinberg, Inc. (New York) 2004 and at the University Art Gallery, California State University, Stanislaus, 2006; Kardex, another year in LA (Los Angeles), 2006; Drawing the Line, Don Soker Contemporary Art (San Francisco), 2007; Robin Hill, Jay Jay Gallery (Sacramento), 2008. Case Discussions, Lennon Weinberg 2012, Snowflake, another year in LA, 2012 Slide Carousel, Ramon's Tailor, and 2014 among others. For more information: Robin Hill website.
7:50 to 8:10 p.m.
Break: Networking/socializing. During the break, presentations will be given. "Anyone can have 30 seconds to share their work, or announce an exhibition, show, idea, etc.," said Davidson.
Chris Dewees, retired marine fisheries specialist at UC Davis, will speak on “Passion for Fish: When East Meets West."
Abstract: This illustrated talk will give insights into two-way communication between scientists and artists.
Biography: Dewees is a San Francisco native with a lifelong passion for fish. His career has included commercial fishing and 35 years as the statewide marine fisheries specialist at UC Davis. His fisheries science accomplishments blended fisheries biology with the human dimensions of fisheries management. When first exposed to the Japanese art of gyotaku, he said he was hooked. "Combining my fisheries expertise with this art form gives me a very balanced life and a way to communicate my passion for fish to others," he says. The art has led to shows and adventures around the world including the Smithsonian. Dewees received his bachelor of science degree from the University of Redlands in biology and speech; his master's degree from Humboldt State University in fisheries; and his doctorate at UC Davis in ecology.
Nanette Wylde, professor of art and art history at California State University, Chico, will speak on “Instigating Some Kind of Action: Interactive Projects Online and Off.”
Biography: Wylde is an artist, writer and cultural worker making socially reflective, language-based works generally of hybrid media. She holds a bachelor's degree in behavioral science from San Jose State University and a MFA in Interactive Multimedia and Printmaking from Ohio State University. At California State University, Chico, she developed and heads the Digital Media/Electronic Arts Program. She is represented by the 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, Ore.; Central Booking, Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Vamp and Tramp, Birmingham, Ala. More information is on her website.
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