Manifestations of Cultural Ambivalence: Laura Splan

Laura Splan

Pushing the boundaries between art and expressions of biology, Laura Splan uses a variety of media to portray her artistic statement by exploring socially constructed perceptions of order and disorder. She uses commonly domestic items such as doilies and uses them in contradictory roles, as visible in her body of work called Viral Artifacts. In this body of work, she uses these common items that are typically associated within the realm of the homemaker and converts them into a role that goes beyond every day home use. These doilies are created in the forms of viruses such as HIV, influenza and more to highlight the growing bio-terrorism throughout the world and our increased awareness of the microbial realm. Not to mention, her use of her own blood onto wallpaper as part of her Elaborate Encoding project gives the viewer a visceral and unsettling reaction to juxtapose the calming patterns of the paper itself. It is interesting to see how this avant-garde artist and conceptual designer uses her work to bring awareness to growing issues in the biomedical world. 

Videos to watch

SEMICONDUCTOR: Magnetic Movie
https://vimeo.com/1166968

NASA + Carl Sagan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY59wZdCDo0

Fabian Oefer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAs6ILaXSPM

Fractals
http://memolition.com/2014/03/01/fractals-hunting-the-hidden-dimension/

Mt. Wilson:
https://vimeo.com/93334090

WELCOME TO ART AND SCIENCE

Art and Science have long been pitted against each other, seemingly signifying two contradictory sides of the brain; objectivity and creativity.  Ideologies that were present in the Renaissance celebrated the conjunction of the two disciplines, resulting in scientists who incorporated truth and beauty into their scientific practices, and artists that had a scientific understanding of the natural world in order to depict it.  Today, Scientists use the same invention and curiosity that fuel artistic practice to understand and explain the world around them and contemporary artists respond visually and conceptually to new discoveries in science.  This studio class offers the argument that science and art can be interconnected in concept and practice.  Students will explore the ways visual systems of representation in art can intersect with contemporary science in various ways to using science as the subject matter or inspiration of the work made in class.  Students will draw inspiration from scientific images and speak with scientists and designers of the current projects at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.