Symposia Day
Ramo Auditorium on Caltech campus
Join us for in-depth exploration and conversation at the intersection of art and science in the final weekend of the Getty-initiated PST ART: Art & Science Collide regional event at Caltech. Artists and researchers from the Caltech Archives, JPL, and CaltechLive will each host 90-minute presentations that illuminate and celebrate the many ways in which scientists and artists share in the creative process and innovation, and how their work contributes to the welfare of our communities.
The presentations are free and open to the public. All events are presented with the support of the James Michelin Distinguished Lecture Program in the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Registration for each presentation is strongly recommended.
Art and Science at Caltech
10:30 a.m.—12 p.m.
The Crossing Over exhibition, which unfolds across three independent spaces on the Caltech campus, draws on the research of 12 scholars in the visual culture of Caltech science. Their collective work is captured in the exhibit and a companion exhibition catalog that weave together the history of science with historical and contemporary art.
In a discussion, moderated by Caltech archivist Peter Sachs Collopy, four of the contributing scholars will discuss the many forms of collaboration between art and science: from drawings of molecules to the architecture of the Caltech campus itself, and in the context of films, from a Frank Capra television special on subatomic particles to how outer space is illustrated by scientists and engineers at JPL and producers in Hollywood. The panelists include:
- Christopher Hawthorne, Senior Critic, Yale School of Architecture
- Brian Jacobson, Caltech Professor of Visual Culture
- Soraya de Chadarevian, UCLA Professor of History
- Lois Rosson, NASA Space Historian
Scientists and Artists on Failure
2:00 p.m.—3:30 p.m.
A panel of scientists and artists explore the concept and experience of failure—how humans learn and grow through failure, both through the unexpected outcomes and the disappointments, and, importantly, how failure is essential to their creative processes. The discussion, moderated by writer and communication strategist Matilda Bathurst, is the culminating program for the Opening Doors performing arts presentation. Featured panelists include:
- Rob Manning, Chief Engineer at NASA's JPL
- Julia Greer, Caltech Professor of Materials Science, Mechanics, and Medical Engineering
- Herbert Sigüenza, Actor and Writer
The Art of Crossing Over
4:30 p.m.—6 p.m.
The exhibition Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020 brings together the history of scientific images at Caltech with contemporary art inspired by Caltech science. In a discussion, moderated by the exhibition's curator Claudia Bohn-Spector, three of exhibition artists will discuss their artistic processes and how their work is in dialogue with the themes of the exhibition. The panelists include:
- elin-o'Hara slavick (UC Irvine)
- Jane Brucker (Loyola Marymount)
- Shana Mabari (independent artist)
Screening and Discussion of Blended Worlds: The Fusion of Art & Science at JPL
7:30 p.m.—9 p.m.
Experience first-hand how the awe-inspiring, immersive and creative projects, taking shape in and around JPL engineer's quest to robotically explore the universe, help to inform and shape understanding of our world and our place within it. Art is at the heart of the pursuit to explore space and to imagine a better future.
The event will include a special screening of the PBS Artbound documentary on Blended Worlds, a featured exhibit part of Getty's Pacific Standard Time (PST ART) initiative, and a panel discussion with the creative and curatorial team from JPL that is behind the exhibit.
Location
Ramo Auditorium on the Caltech campus.
Parking on weekends is free in Caltech parking structures.
Registration
Please specify which panels you will be attending.
For any questions, please contact the Caltech Ticket Office at (626) 395-4652 or at Events@Caltech.edu.