Art-Science Lecture

On August 3rd, 2013, Xavier Cortada will deliver a lecture on his art-science practice at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville, FL.  Cortada often collaborates with scientists in his art-making:

At CERN, Cortada worked with a physicist to develop a site-specific art installation capturing the five search strategies which the CMS experiment has used to discover a new Higgs-like particle.  The five giant banners hang at the location (100m below the ground) where the particle was discovered.

He has also worked with a population geneticist on a project exploring our ancestral journeys out of Africa 60,000 years ago, with a molecular biologist to synthesize an actual DNA strand made from a sequence randomly generated by participants visiting his museum exhibit, and with botanists in eco-art projects to reforest mangroves, native treesand wildflowers.

Cortada is currently working with scientists at Hubbard Brook LTER on an water cycle visualization project driven by real-time data collected at a watershed in New Hamphire’s White Mountains.

The lecture will be part of the University of Florida’s Creative B programming.

About the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art

MISSION STATEMENT
The University of Florida’s Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art collaborates with university and community partners to inspire, educate and enrich people’s lives through art. The museum brings the joy of experiencing great works of art to diverse university, community, national and global audiences through relevant and enlightening art collections, exhibitions and learning opportunities.

VISION
The Harn Museum of Art is a dynamic leader among public university art museums. The museum offers active engagement with the visual arts in a welcoming environment for diverse audiences. Through collaboration with University of Florida faculty and students, local partners and the international art community, the Harn provides relevant and engaging art-centered programming that reflects world cultures, human history and current events. Exemplary collections and innovative exhibitions invite dialogue about regional, national and international issues, fostering critical thinking and sparking creativity. The Harn employs new technologies that reach wider audiences and enhance their encounters with great works of art.