Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020: Press
Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020
Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020, curated by Claudia Bohn-Spector and directed by Peter Collopy, presents an exhibition by way of a scavenger hunt. Funded in part via the Getty Foundation’s current PST ART: Art and Science Collide initiative, the exhibition unfolds across six sites at the hermetic institution. In it, materials from Caltech’s archives are presented alongside work by artists such as Helen Pashgian, Lita Albuquerque, and Lia Halloran in spaces that are usually reserved for scientific research and instruction. In wielding scientific materials as and alongside aesthetic ones, the exhibition makes all of Caltech into a playground for various forms of observation.
Read more at The Brooklyn Rail.
Artists Unearth Universes in Caltech’s Archives
The artists in Crossing Over were inspired by a century of monumental discoveries from the scientists who have made Caltech one of the world’s most elite research institutions.
The artists — Halloran, Lita Albuquerque, Jane Brucker, Shana Mabari, and Helen Pashgian — were inspired by a century of monumental discoveries from the physicists, engineers, chemists, and other scientists who have made Caltech one of the most elite scientific research institutions in the world. The show is divided into sections (The Infinite Lawn, Time Stream, and Powers of Ten) to cluster technological advancements into their own themed galleries, particularly in astronomy, physics, and chemistry — but that’s by no means every discipline covered in this show.
Crossing Over: An Arts and Sciences Fusion at Caltech
Among the standout pieces is an image that Collopy describes as “the first TV image of Mars,” taken by Mariner 4 in 1965. This iconic image, transmitted as a digital photograph by radio from Mars to Earth, exemplifies the technological and visual advancements central to Caltech’s scientific legacy.
The feedback from visitors has been overwhelmingly positive. “People are especially drawn to the merging of scientific and artistic elements,” Collopy shared, adding that many visitors appreciate the cohesive layout and design of the exhibition, which spans multiple campus sites. By making the exhibition free to the public, Caltech hopes to engage both the campus community and the wider public in this unique journey through science and art.
Read more at The California Tech.
Campuswide Exhibition Bridges Art and Science at Caltech
Crossing Over spans six locations across campus—three galleries and three contemporary art installations—and tells the story of how scientific discovery and visual culture have shaped one another at Caltech. The exhibition highlights objects from the Caltech Archives and Special Collections, including rare books, scientific illustrations, molecular models, paintings, photographs, and more. Crossing Over is also accompanied by a visual catalogue of essays on the history of science and art at the Institute.
"We have done smaller history of science exhibitions before," says university archivist and head of Archives and Special Collections Peter Collopy, who spearheaded and directed the Crossing Over project. "But this is on a scale that is absolutely new."
Crossing Over: Where Art and Science Meet
This fall, Caltech is home to a new exhibit called Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020.
Part of Getty's event, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, Crossing Over is a campuswide public exhibition presented by Caltech Library that opens on September 27 and runs through December 15. Take a look at some of the featured items from this exhibition.
Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020 is free, self-guided, and open to the public. Visiting hours for the indoor galleries are Wednesdays–Sundays, 11 a.m.– 4 p.m.
View the slideshow at Caltech Magazine.
Light and Energy Meet in Norton Simon, Caltech Shows
If you enter the Caltech campus from the west side, walking along the grassy Bechtel Mall framed by the oldest buildings at the school, the first things you see of the Crossing Over series are Shana Mabari’s Spectrum Petals. This wonderful series of seven sculptures – each a smooth plastic disc about 3 feet in diameter and 6 inches thick – are spread across the lawn, standing on edge as if they just landed from outer space.
The discs — in red, blue, green, yellow, orange — look like semi-transparent lenses, perhaps designed for a large telescope. In fact, they’re slightly reflective, casting odd bands of color on the grass. (The squirrels foraging on the lawn near a disc seem spooked by the appearance of an identical squirrel looking back at them.)