MEDICAL CENTER REPORT
12/03/08
Multimedia microbes in Dec. 9 performance piece
BY ROSANNE SPECTOR
Related News
- » So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star? Study molecular pharmacology
- » Inaugural Pan-Asian Musical Festival blends new music with traditional works
- » Chinese art exhibit is highly political
Stanford's hosting a strange biology experiment and you're invited. The experiment's hypothesis: Mixing art with science leads to innovation. The method: Fill an artist's mind with biology and then set him loose to create art for working scientists.
Running the experiment is artist Yang Jiechang, recipient of this year's Sterling Visiting Professorship in the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology. Expect neon lights, sounds from outer space and video starring E. coli, said department chair James Ferrell, MD, PhD.
The professorship usually goes to a top scientist, but this year, the medical school's senior associate dean for research Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD, who is also a member of the department, suggested trying something completely different.
"She said let's shake everybody up and invite an artist who would like to work at the interface of art and science," said Ferrell. His thoughts turned immediately to Jiechang, whom he first met as a result of an art exhibition at the Cantor Art Center in 2005, curated by his wife, art historian Britta Erickson, PhD.
Jiechang is an acclaimed artist who works in many media including ink painting, installation and performance. Born in 1956 in Foshan, a city near Guangzhou in southern China, he studied folk art, calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting at the Foshan Institute of Folk Art, and continued his studies in traditional Chinese painting at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.
Jiechang became a professor at the Guangzhou Academy, where he remained until 1988. He was also a serious student of Zen Buddhism and Taoism. He emigrated to Paris in 1989. His recent exhibitions include the Venice Biennale; a solo show at Galerie Jeanne Bucher in Paris and the Guangzhou Triennial.
Jiechang's Stanford project began with a trip in March to immerse himself in the work of scientists. "We showed him some E. coli under a microscope swimming around." Ferrell said. "He was overwhelmed by the idea that there's this tiny universe in a drop, and you can go from one E. coli to more than the number of people in the world in a day. He decided to build a project out of views of this microuniverse."
The latest visit began Dec. 1 with a lecture and discussion, attracting about 50 scientists. "Jiechang spoke about the tensions in making good art—about issues such as craft vs. error and aesthetics vs. politics," said Ferrell. "It pushed members of the department into an unfamiliar space. They asked great questions."
The experiment's culmination will be a talk and the multimedia performance, "In God We Trust." All are welcome at the event, which is at 4 p.m. Dec. 9 in the Beckman Center's Munzer Auditorium.
Office of Communication
Share this via...