Nano Communication in Germany (Zwei)

Images From Science 2009, PTB

Jennifer:  This New Years’ Eve, instead of getting ready to party in Perth, I will be hopping on a plane bound for Berlin. I am holding out hope that the Berliners will still be celebrating when I touch down at Tegel Airport in the wee hours of January 01, 2010. And when the New Years’ festivities are over, I’m going to get stuck into experiencing the plethora of nanotechnology communication that Germany has to offer.

During the month of March 2010, I will embark on a tour of Germany, visiting science centres and education institutions that focus on nanotechnology communication. My first stop will be the German metrology institute, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, in Brunswick. The PTB is a member of three Nanotechnology Competence Centres in Germany, and specialises in ultraprecise surface figuring, nanoelectronics and nanoscale analysis. It is also the workplace of scientist Dr Hans Danzebrink, whose nano artwork was featured in the Images From Science exhibition in 2008 in New York. The PTB recently hosted the Images From Science exhibition for 2009, and creatively installed scientific art on landings, ceilings and windows .

Images From Science 2009, PTB

Unfortunately, I will arrive in Germany too late to experience the “SciencExpress”. The train, a travelling nanotech communication centre, departed Berlin in April and is making a round trip of Germany to arrive back in Berlin in this month. While at work the other day, I was lamenting the fact that I would miss out on seeing the nano train. A German colleague, who has just arrived in Perth on a professional exchange, overheard me. It turns out that my colleague works for ArchiMeDes- the very company that designed and implemented the SciencExpress! I was floored by the sheer coincidence- the nano communication world is veritably tiny. Her team has developed numerous nano-focused exhibitions, and is based in Berlin. So a visit to ArchiMeDes is certainly on my itinerary for March 2010!

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Design, Nanotechnology

Art and Science Come Together at the Perth Royal Show

Jennifer: Last weekend I joined hundreds of excited children and their parents at the Perth Royal Show. I was there to present the Science Of Slime, and had a fabulous time making goo all day long. In between slime shows, I did manage to slip in a visit to the exhibit pavilions. It was here that I came across the work of artist Donna Franklin.

Donna’s Micro ‘be’ Fermented Fashion- a project that Lisa blogged about back in 2007- was on show in the Grand Pavilion. Micro ‘be’ is the world’s first dress made from the bacterial ferment of wine. The alcohol is converted to acetic acid (vinegar), and the by-product of this reaction is microfibrous cellulose (cotton).

“Fibre Reactive” also caught my eye; a dress constructed from a living fungus that “grows with the wearer”. The fungus changes from white to orange over time, and interestingly, is the same fungus that breaks down the bacteria constituting the Micro ‘be’ wine dress.

Donna’s work was featured at the Technothreads Exhibition at Dublin’s Science Gallery in April 2008. Along with the fungus and wine dresses, she also exhibited a Guinness garment, which smells, according to the artist, “a bit like the day after the night before”.

SymbioticA’s “Victimless Leather”, a semi-living exhibit constructed using connective tissue from mice, was also featured at the Technothreads Exhibition.

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Design, Science

Design for Debate

Jennifer: National Science Week in Western Australia was marked by the visit of London designers Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby to Perth. Dunne and Raby use scenario thinking to create designs for different technological futures.

“Design For Debate”, coordinated by SymbioticA, was a public discussion on the social, cultural and ethical impacts of existing and emerging technologies on everyday life. Dunne and Raby believe that designers need to decide collectively which futures are the least harmful, and to create designs according to the needs we will encounter in these more desirable futures.

I was particularly taken with the concept of “Designs for fragile personalities in anxious times”. This exhibition of 2004-2005 includes objects designed to alleviate irrational but real anxieties, such as the fear of alien abduction and nuclear destruction. “Hideaway Furniture” is designed for those who fear being abducted. Each piece of furniture can be opened without disturbing the objects on top of it and the owner can occupy the space inside in poses very unlike the foetal position. The poses encourage the owner to feel comfortable and in control.

“Spymaker”, exhibited in 2007, explores the impact of surveillance technology on our everyday lives. Dunne and Raby’s creation, the “em-muzzle”, is based on scientific research being carried out into re-mapping sensory input to different parts of the brain. The blinkered muzzle for dogs connects the part of its brain repsonsible for its sense of smell to an antenna which senses electromagnetic fields. The dog can then guide its owner to areas free of CCTV and electronic monitoring.

Dunne and Raby’s designs are exhibited internationally, and are featured in permanent collections at MoMA and Fnac- the Fond National d’Art Contemporain- in Paris.

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Design

Design to Improve Life: Copenhagen

Kristin: Today I visited the Copenhagen City Centre and came across a very engaging design exhibition called Index: Design to Improve Life. There, in a number of clear plastic capsules scattered throughout the square were examples of beautifully designed products that aimed to improve the way we live throughout the world. Apparently, the items featured in the exhibition had been whittled down from an initial 700 submissions. These included hardware for hearing aids shaped like iPods rather than medical devices, clever medical kits to assist childbirth out of hospital, colourful ‘drivers of change’ cards for thinking about the future, the ‘Better Place’ recharging station for electric vehicles and a host of other interesting and varied examples. You really need to explore the website to appreciate the scope of the project – quite inspiring! The exhibition is one of a number of activities being presented during Design Week in Copenhagen.

Filed under: Design, Events, Innovation , Design, Innovation

Science – Art collaboration for visioning climate change in Melbourne

Kate: Two major events aimed at communicating the science and implications of climate change were held in Melbourne this week.

• Melbourne’s Inaugural Festival of Ideas took the theme of Climate Change/Cultural Change at a critical moment in world history and
• Melbourne University hosted a two day Teachers Workshop on Climate Change, The Environment and Evolution - as part of the national Evolution Festival (marking the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin)

Both events included creative inspiration from artists to inform conceptions and debate.

The Ideas Festival director, Dr Patrick McCaughey, a former art critic and Director of the National Gallery of Victoria, ensured a prominent role for artists including poets, novelists and musicians in visioning the cultural changes needed in facing climate change.  Musical performances and readings illuminated the Festival’s themes. At a session of Contemporary Music for a Time of Change a work by Dr Elliott Gyger titled From the Hungry Waiting Country was performed by Halcyon. (You can listen to the performance here) This was a libretto made up of different texts including 20th-century Australian poems and extracts from ancient Near Eastern religious texts. These seemingly disparate strata are linked by striking use of Biblical imagery in the Australian poetry, and by the common theme of water in the desert, often as an image for divine grace. Gyger was hoping to highlight the ethical dimension to emerging ecological crises, that is an increasing awareness that they are the consequences of our own actions.
The impact of cultural imperatives of climate change on art were also explored at the Ideas Festival. In a session titled titled The Architect and the Art of Architecture: Victims or Heroes of Climate Change? speakers debated whether the constraints of designing climate friendly buildings will curtail architects freedom of individual expression.

Arts based teaching resources were demonstrated at the Teachers Workshop on Climate Change, The Environment and Evolution. One curriculum resource included was from Bug Blitz, an innovative program designed to educate students on biodiversity using an arts-based approach. Initiated by the Hugh D.T. Williamson Foundation (under the auspices of the Victorian Museum) Bug Blitz involves experts in environmental sciences, film, multimedia and puppetry to promote creative ways of learning. For climate change studies Bug Blitz is used to demonstrate how small changes can have major impacts on an ecosystem.

Responding to climate change will bring transformative changes to our culture and society. The prominence of artists in Melbourne’s Climate Change focused events this week, demonstrates the important role that artists play in helping us envision and communicate these changes.

Filed under: Art, Awareness, Creativity, Design, Environment, Events, Science , Art-Science, climate change, darwin, evolution, Ideas Festival, Melbourne, public science, science education