Reception October 5, 4:30-6:30pm at the gallery
Black (W)hole is an immersive exhibition experience designed by The Einstein Collective that combines the arts, data visualization and sonification, and astrophysics. Entering the installation, viewers step into a darkened gallery where a laser star field projects onto their skin. The visitor becomes immersed in a field of stars surrounded by the Einstein equations that were written roughly 100 years ago and predicted the existence of black holes. Through this sensory-rich experience, the viewer learns about black holes in a way that goes beyond visual simulations or descriptive words.
The Einstein Collective is a group of artists, scientists and educators from several universities. Members include: Sara Mast, lead visual artist; Jessica Jellison, architect; Christopher O’Leary, animator and visual artist; Cindy Stillwell, filmmaker; Jason Bolte, composer/sound artist; Charles Kankelborg, solar physicist; Nico Yunes, astrophysicist; Joey Shapiro Key, astrophysicist. A special workshop for UCSC students on ArtScience collaboration will be offered by artist Sara Mast and astrophysicists Joey Shapiro Key and UCSC Professor Enrico Ramirez-Ruuiz during the exhibition.
The Black (W)hole project uses data visualization of an extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI) with the aural data of gravitational wave frequencies in an experiential work of ArtScience. The visitor becomes immersed in a field of stars, designed by Physics Professor Charles Kankelborg from Montana State University (MSU), surrounded by the Einstein equations that were written roughly one hundred years ago and predicted the existence of black holes. This work engages mind and body in both historical and current gravitational wave astronomy, encompassing our current, 21st century level of understanding of the universe and expanding the viewer's capacity to imagine and wonder.
Visitors can step into an animation of an extreme mass ratio inspiral—a small black hole being sucked into a supermassive black hole, which results in the emission of gravitational waves.Through this sensory-rich experience, the viewer learns about black holes in a way that goes beyond visual simulations or descriptive words. Lead Physicist Nicolas Yunes and Jason Bolte, a professor in the School of Music, both from Montana State University, took the supercomputer’s data that was used to create the animation and turned it into sound, a process called data sonification. The sound was then synchronized to a soundtrack for the animation, which was created by Christopher O’Leary from UCLA. Astrophysicist Joey Shapiro Key, previously served as educational specialist for the Montana Space Grant Consortium and also contributed to the discovery of gravitational waves, was a scientific adviser to the project.
This installation comprises black hole animation, Transmutations (an experimental film created by Cindy Stillwell using encaustic paintings by Sara Mast, an associate professor of drawing and painting at Montana State University), and the actual Mast paintings.
The Einstein Collective would like to thank the following sponsors:
Montana Space Grant Consortium, Montana State University, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National ScienceFoundation.
This exhibition is sponsored by the University of California Santa Cruz, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Arts Division, Porter College, Institute of the Arts and Sciences, OpenLab, and the Barbara Walker Memorial Fund.
The Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery encourages interdisciplinary discourse through the lens of the arts. The gallery is located at Porter College, UCSC, and is wheelchair accessible. Admission is free and metered parking is available at Porter College. Group tours are available by appointment at (831) 459-3606.
''Imagination is more important than knowledge."—Albert Einstein
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday 12-5 p.m., Wednesdays 12-8 p.m.
Free and open to the public
In the Porter Faculty Gallery Fall 2016
I'm Walkin' For my Freedom: The Selma March for Voting Rights
October 5 - November 23, 2016
Thursday, October 27: 5:00pm Special Reception and conversation
with photographer Matt Herron and UCSC professor Martin Berger, from the History of Art and Visual Culture Department
Related events:
LASER talk about the Black (W)hole (read more) Tuesday, Oct. 4, 7pm for the Institute of Arts and Sciences at the Digital Arts Resource Center (DARC) 108 (LASER) Leonardo Art/Science Evening Rendezvous consists of 4 speakers talking about the arts and sciences
Friday, Oct. 7, 1:00-5:00pm Workshop application: UCSC students apply to participate