Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020: Time Stream and This Moment in Time
Gazing at the stars has enthralled humans since time immemorial. Eternal and mysterious, the sky above compels exploration,offering a sense of exaltation and wonder in a rapidly changing world. This section draws on Caltech’s collection of rare, illustrated books in physics and astronomy, including first edition works by Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. Augmented by photographs, pulp science fiction books, and contemporary artworks, Time Stream explores how scientists and artists have imagined, observed, and studied the universe over the past 500 years.
The display unfolds in the small historic library of Gates Annex, built in 1927. Los Angeles artist Jane Brucker engages the private room for a meditation on the Magnetic Attraction between opposites while reflecting on the celestial theme of this section.
Lita Albuquerque’s monumental installation This Moment in Time spans the pool outside Gates Annex. The artist’s use of gold refers to the creation of the precious metal and other chemical elements through nuclear fusion reactions within stars—a process theoretically and experimentally studied in landmark research by Caltech physicist William A. Fowler and his colleagues in the 1950s and ’60s. This Moment in Time commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of Albuquerque’s first exhibition at Caltech’s Baxter Art Gallery in 1974.