PARI visit

Art and Science, two fields that require energy, creativity, out of the box thinking, faith and discipline and that are yet often seen as opposite worlds. 

The goal of art and science projects is for the arts to use concepts from science as a source of inspiration, and for science to use art as an attractive way to reach the non scientific population. 

Take astronomy:  All civilizations have fantasized and dreamed about the beauty that liven the sky. This is as true today as it was in the most romantic ages, except that now there are a lot more complex words and concepts behind the lives of stars than the used to be. We think we understand better how and where stars are born, why they don't fall, and how and where they die. This is where art can serve science, not everyone is keen on reading scientific articles about the life of pulsars,  about what they do and about what these fascinating celestial objects are. Even if I am I very well understand that other people find no pleasure in reading about how a pulsar helps describe the curvature of space-time. Maybe the same people would understand this idea or what makes a pulsar different from another celestial object if we could show them the difference through a media other than words and tables of numbers and articles?

Maybe a painting or a photograph of their real environment, but somehow twisted so that it doesn't look the way they usually see it would help them grab an idea of this other reality. Maybe an installation where they

are part of the art would help them question their sense of perception? Maybe if we show people one representation of a gravitational wave that is neither a graph on a scale nor a number, they might grow interested in the concept and start to investigate it, or just remember that it exists.

At PARI today Ellen and I were exposed to many instruments, numbers and images which can be the source of a project or exhibition,

allowing the concept to be  displayed to the public in a form that might speak to different people. We got to talk with Christi about observing celestial objects through radio telescopes or regular telescopes, observatory, radome

... we saw poles that capture the wavelength of solar flares, and other instruments to capture data such as magnetic fields or movement of the earth's crust. 

Education, research and outreach are the three missions of this STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) institute. They want to share with the broadest possible public their enthusiasm and passion about this field.

 They want to make it fun, interesting and accessible, and we artists have a role there. We pursue the same goal. Is Art only for the people who go to museums? Art is a way to share a passion, to share a vision of our environment. When physicists write theories they do the same thing as when we paint. And it is the goal of the Rensing Center and of SymbASA to create such connection, which they have done during my residence stay. It was a wonderful experience, one that we all wish will lead to other meetings and exchanges and practical creations, so that the bridge between art and science can be crossed by more  PARI visitors.