{"id":16643,"date":"2016-08-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-hakamagwp.pantheonsite.io\/news\/amplifying-data-through-art"},"modified":"2017-11-08T00:04:53","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T00:04:53","slug":"amplifying-data-through-art","status":"publish","type":"custom_quick","link":"https:\/\/hakaimagazine.com\/article-short\/amplifying-data-through-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Amplifying Data Through Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the armchair scientist, looking at histograms, scatter plots, and probability distributions is like trying to read Beowulf <\/em>in Old English.<\/em><\/strong> You know it\u2019s important and you desperately want to understand, but it isn\u2019t easy. With challenges such as overfishing, ocean acidification, and sea level rise rapidly changing our marine environments, it\u2019s more important than ever to help people understand\u2014and care about\u2014what\u2019s going on. To this end, artists are working with scientific data and translating complex concepts and new findings into visually stimulating, thought-provoking works\u2014similar to what director Robert Zemeckis did with his cinematic spin on Beowulf<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The idea that art can be the catalyst to spur curiosity in science and promote greater awareness is gaining traction\u2014some research and exploration vessels are taking on \u201cartists-at-sea,\u201d while academic and arts initiatives are pairing the right-brained with the left-brained for cross-pollination. When Philadelphia-based artist Rebecca Rutstein<\/a> was aboard the exploration vessel Nautilus<\/em><\/a> last year, expedition leader Robert Ballard<\/a> made an apt analogy she won\u2019t soon forget: exploring the deep ocean is like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon in the dark. The artist can turn the light on. \u201cI see art making the invisible visible and communicating scientific ideas in a visceral way that can reach a broader audience,\u201d says Rutstein, adding that her data-driven work seeks to evoke wonder and excitement about ocean exploration.<\/p>\n

Here are five artists who are turning on lights, helping us look at scientific data differently.<\/p>\n

Janet Echelman\u2014Tsunami Sculptures Articulate Interconnectedness<\/h2>\n

This summer, visitors to Montreal\u2019s Quartier des spectacles<\/a> are being reminded of the 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami, and how the devastating events reverberated around the world. While revelers enjoy cultural activities in a bustling outdoor plaza<\/a>, a net sculpture inspired by the tsunami waves billows above them, covering an area about the size of a basketball court. The name of the ethereal aerial piece, 1.26<\/em>, comes from the number of microseconds the earthquake shortened the day as a result of Earth\u2019s shifting mass<\/a>. \u201cThe artwork reminds us of our complex interdependencies with larger cycles of time and matter,\u201d says artist Janet Echelman<\/a>. \u201cIts physical presence is a manifestation of interconnectedness\u2014when any one element in the sculpture moves, every other element is affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

To create 1.26<\/em> and a second tsunami-inspired series entitled 1.8 <\/em>(the number of microseconds by which the day was shortened after the 2011 T\u014dhoku earthquake), Echelman\u2019s studio used data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to generate 3D models of the tsunamis\u2019 amplitude rippling across the ocean. These renderings became the basis for the layered textile forms, which are modified to fit the location. 1.26<\/em> has been exhibited in seven countries, while 1.8<\/em> London <\/em>has transformed the skyscape above Oxford Circus and 1.8 Renwick <\/em>has literally floored visitors to the Smithsonian\u2019s Renwick Gallery, who reclined on the carpet (also designed by Echelman and inspired by topographic data on the seafloor) to get the best vantage point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see myself as an interpreter of scientific data rather than a presenter of data,\u201d Echelman explains. \u201cFor example, when I want factual news I go to the New York Times<\/em>, but when I\u2019m seeking interpretation of the news, I might go to Stephen Colbert or John Oliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Echelman\u2019s arresting aerial sculptures have transformed skyscapes in capital cities such as London, Prague, and Amsterdam, inspiring millions to reflect on interconnectedness and the impact of natural phenomena on us all. Photo by Ema Peter, courtesy of Studio Echelman<\/p><\/div>\n

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Lying on the floor of the Smithsonian\u2019s Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC, visitors get a new perspective on the 2011 T\u014dhoku earthquake and tsunami thanks to Echelman\u2019s 1.8 Renwick<\/em>. The piece was part of the WONDERS<\/em> exhibit, which focused on immersive artwork, and has recently been acquired for the gallery’s permanent collection. Photo by Bruce Petschek, courtesy of Studio Echelman<\/p><\/div>\n

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1.26<\/em> floats above the Amstel River in Amsterdam as part of the city\u2019s light festival in winter 2012-13. The piece uses data from the 2010 tsunami in Chile, which devastated several coastal towns. Photo by Klaas Fopma, courtesy of Studio Echelman<\/p><\/div>\n

Rebecca Rutstein\u2014Shining Light on the Hidden Seafloor as an Artist-at-Sea<\/h2>\n

As the exploration vessel Nautilus<\/em> traveled from the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands to California last summer, artist-at-sea Rebecca Rutstein watched in awe as images of the ocean floor appeared in real time on a screen. The terrain had never before been mapped in high resolution, and Rutstein was bearing witness to the science team\u2019s gleeful discovery of seamounts and submarine volcanoes. \u201cIt was like watching this hidden landscape unravel in front of us,\u201d she recalls. \u201cLooking at the ocean floor with satellite data is like looking at a set table with the tablecloth on top. Using high-resolution multibeam sonar is like pulling off the tablecloth.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the data was collected, Rutstein retreated to her makeshift studio in the vessel\u2019s wet lab, where she used 3D visualization software to \u201cfly\u201d through maps of submarine landscapes and select interesting viewpoints to incorporate into her acrylic paintings. After pouring paint to create gemstone-like backgrounds, she projected the topographic maps onto her canvases and traced the lines in acrylics. The resulting pieces invite viewers to imagine the landscapes that lie beneath the sea.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists and scientists share a desire to make sense of the world around them, but they do so from different perspectives,\u201d says Rutstein, who recently returned from a second artist-at-sea residency, this time aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute\u2019s research vessel Falkor<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThe artist aims to communicate ideas visually, seeking out creativity and innovation, and ultimately thinking about the viewer.\u201d It\u2019s an approach, Rutstein says, that can help scientists make their ideas and findings more accessible to the public.<\/p>\n

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Following her residency aboard the Nautilus<\/em>, Rutstein created this large piece\u2014about the size of a dining room table\u2014in her Philadelphia studio. Gal\u00e1\u200bpagos I <\/em>is based on the sonar map of the Gal\u00e1pagos rift zone created aboard the Nautilus<\/em> last year. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Rutstein and Bridgette Mayer Gallery<\/p><\/div>\n

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After pouring paint to create abstract backgrounds, Rutstein superimposes topographic maps of the ocean floor onto her paintings. To be as true to the data as possible, the artist first projects the maps onto a canvas before carefully tracing the lines. Photo courtesy of SOI\/Chris Linder<\/p><\/div>\n

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L\u00e1zaro C\u00e1rdenas Canyon<\/em> depicts a canyon off the coast of Mexico named after the former Mexican president. The canyon was mapped in high resolution for the first time on the Nautilus<\/em> in 2015, and the painting was created at sea right after the data was collected. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Rutstein and Bridgette Mayer Gallery<\/p><\/div>\n

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Rutstein was busy aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute\u2019s research vessel Falkor<\/em>. In her two-week residency this summer, she created eight paintings in the vessel\u2019s wet lab. In addition to using mapping data, she also worked with satellite images of the Mekong River plume dispersing into the South China Sea. Photo courtesy of SOI\/Rebecca Rutstein and Bridgette Mayer Gallery<\/p><\/div>\n