A Physicist, a Composer and an Artist Walk into a Pub
Pictured Above: Margaret Schedel, Melissa Clarke, and Kevin Yager.
A Brookhaven National Laboratory physicist, Stony Brook University music professor, an interdisciplinary artist and a composer/artist will present a conversation about how 3D printed sculptures, sound, and virtual reality can help unpack complex structures at the nanoscale at the Parrish Art Museum on Friday, Sept. 6.
“Sculpture, Sound, & Simulation: Transforming Scientific Data into Interactive Art,” from 7 to 9 p.m., is the second program presented in partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) as part of PubSci at the Parrish, a spin-off of BNL’s science café and conversation series.
One of the presenters, Paul D. Miller—aka DJ Spooky — will lead a dance party afterwards from 9 to 11 pm.
Both programs are open to the public, with separate admission for each — $12 for the talk and $20 ($10/Members & Talk Attendees) for the dance party.
“I’m thrilled to present this inspirational and fun double bill on September 6,” said Corinne Erni, Senior Curator of ArtsReach and Special Projects at the museum. “Last year’s huge success of PubSci warranted a continuation of our collaboration with Brookhaven National Lab and having DJ Spooky on the panel is a perfect segue from exploring the mysteries of art and science to dancing the night away.”
The panel includes interdisciplinary artist and co-founder of arts.codes Melissa Clarke; composer, artist, and writer Paul D. Miller; Stony Brook Associate Professor of computer music Margaret Schedel; and Kevin Yager, physicist at BNL’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials.
The panelists, moderated by Justin Eure, will engage the audience in an open discussion on intersections of science and art that shape our world—specifically through a presentation on how nanoscience data generated at BNL’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) and National Synchrotron Light Source II can be represented in novel ways using various forms of art.
They will explain how these representations can help scientists understand how 3D nanostructures are organized.
Following the talk is an outdoor dance party on the Terrace from 9 to 11 p.m., featuring DJ Spooky, who has collaborated with Metallica, Chuck D, Steve Reich, and Yoko Ono, among others.
His 2018 album, DJ Spooky Presents: Phantom Dancehall, debuted at #3 on Billboard Reggae.
DJ Spooky’s large-scale, multimedia performance pieces include “Rebirth of a Nation,” Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica, commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Seoul Counterpoint, written during his 2014 residency at Seoul Institute of the Arts. His multimedia project, Sonic Web, premiered at San Francisco’s Internet Archive in 2019.
He was the inaugural artist-in-residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s The Met Reframed, 2012-2013 and is currently Artist in Residence at Google.
The PubSci program will take place in a casual pub setting in the Museum’s Lichtenstein Theater, where guests can purchase food and drink.
For more information, visit parrishart.org or call the museum at 621.283.2118.
