- 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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