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da Vinci and Friends:
Curriculum Where Science and the Arts Meet
Fall 2005 Newsletter
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Web Site: http://www.blakeschool.org/davinci
Welcome to da Vinci and Friends’ monthly newsletter for teachers and others interested in connections between the arts and the sciences in K-12 curricula! Please forward the newsletter to friends who may be interested. You will find subscription procedures at the end of this newsletter.
CONTENTS
Paint Making Kit
Natural Dyes and Mordant Kit
Interpretive Characterizations
Leonardo’s Basement
Edward Albee on Arts in Education
Antibodies solve art mystery
Physics of Dance
Museums Use New Tools to Fix Old Works
Visual Media
Math Major Turned Sculptor
Artists informed by Science
Cabaret Mechanical Theatre
Art for Science Education
Origami
Visions of Nature
The Art of Science
Science & the Arts Series
Creativity Courses in New York City and Europe
Sir Isaac's Sci-Art Jam
Mandalas
CURRICULUM RESOURCES
Paint Making Kit
Adapt ancient techniques as chemists now mix pigments and a liquid vehicle to make paints. Your students can use this kit (suitable for students in all grade levels) to learn about the chemistry involved in making paints today, and to make their own blue and green paint.
http://www.sciencekit.com/category.asp_Q_c_E_432211
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Natural Dyes and Mordant Kit
The ages-old process of dying fabric with color from natural materials lends itself to experimenting and to the creative arts. This hands-on kit makes it possible for students to extract their own dyes from plants. Students can make red, yellow and brown dyes, use these dyes on fabric samples, then study the results of the dyes both with and without mordants (metal salt solutions used to ensure colorfastness).
http://www.sciencekit.com/category.asp_Q_c_E_749808
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Interpretive Characterizations
Mark Twain, Albert Einstein and Robert Service can visit your school for enrichment programs, integrated curriculum programs and fundraisers. Visit the MARTES website:
http://martinjwagner.home.att.net/
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RESOURCES FOR KIDS
Leonardo’s Basement
Leonardo's Basement (Minneapolis) is an innovative educational organization for children and their families. They create imaginative learning environments where girls and boys ages 6 to 16 design and build their creative ideas, mixing art, science and technology. Among the programs is the Creativity Convention on school release days. While teachers are at their annual convention in October, girls and boys ages 6-16 can attend their very own Creativity Convention at Leonardo's Basement. Participants attend three hands-on building classes each day - invention, woodworking, textiles, arts and crafts, etc. - PLUS music, dance, writing, drawing, puppetry, storytelling, theater, cooking and other creative activities. Other programs are After School Classes, Saturday Open Shop and Lego League.
http://www.leonardosbasement.org
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ARTICLES
Edward Albee on Arts in Education
Edward Albee, playwright who wrote “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and “A Delicate Balance,” spoke recently in Minneapolis on the importance of arts and education. He said that school curricula that ignore the arts produce “highly educated Barbarians.” The 30-minute address may be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio web site, Under the MidDay program October 6.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/programs/midday/listings/md20051003.shtml
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Antibodies solve art mystery
A biologist helped art conservators identify a mysterious organic layer in a centuries-old sculpture as egg white. The Los Angeles Times reports on the problem-solving process that included a bit of luck while a conservator was on vacation with a biologist.
http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/cl-ca-conservation4sep04,2,3723327.story
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Physics of Dance
Or Dance of Physics? Read an interview, “A Step in Space-Time,” by Valerie Jamieson in New Scientist 05/19/05. The subjects are a London choreographer/artistic director and a theoretical physicist who acted as science advisor for a recent work.
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg18625002.100
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Museums Use New Tools to Fix Old Works
“John Singer Sargent's ‘Madame X’ developed strange tiny bumps under her right arm and along the back of her head. A set of drawings by Louis Comfort Tiffany was crumpled, frayed and stained by water and mold. The enamel on a fish pendant was not as old as it should have been, suggesting that the piece might be a fake.” So reports a NY Times article by Samir S. Patel (July 5, 2005).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has eight scientists working with tests such as microscopy and X-rays to figure out the materials used in works of art and how they can be repaired, among other things.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/science/05muse.html
WEB SITE REVIEWS
Visual Media
This site is an extensive one that focuses on the history of early visual media, such as pre-cinema optical toys, magic lantern, phantasmagoria and phenakistiscope (covered in this newsletter previously as a curriculum residency resource).
http://www.visual-media.be/aims.html
PEOPLE
Math Major Turned Sculptor
Bathsheba Grossman was a mathematics major at Yale University and was introduced to art through general education requirements. At Yale she studied with sculptor Erwin Hauer, now professor emeritus, whose interest in the infinite as well as measurement clearly resonated with Ms. Grossman. It was one of those transformative experiences and while she finished her undergraduate degree in mathematics she went on to do an MFA in sculpture at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Grossman started by making sculptures by hand but turned to 3D printing which uses lasers and Computer Aided Design (CAD). She describes her sculptures as based on "symmetry point groups." The symmetries are boggling. The objects she sculpts are incredible and to my surprise small, i.e., they fit in the palm of one's hand and she carries them with her, sometimes selling them along the way. Her page is rich in information on how she does her work as well as her views on her work and making a living as an artist. Her first piece of advice, hardly a surprise, is "don't quit your day job." She worked half time for nearly a decade to support her passion. Thanks to Ed Hessler for writing this contribution!
http://www.bathsheba.com/artist
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Artists informed by Science
The AAAS Art of Science and Technology Program opens its latest exhibit on 15 September with a reception for the two featured artists: sculptor Craig Schaffer and painter Jonathan Feldschuh. Their works illustrate the idea that, instead of being polar opposites as many believe, art and science share much common ground. (Credit: Ed Hessler)
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2005/0906art.shtml
EVENTS
Cabaret Mechanical Theatre
At The Science Museum of Minnesota (St. Paul, MN) Cabaret Mechanical Theatre celebrates the essence of tinkering. In the spirit of invention and creativity, the brand new Cabaret Mechanical Theatre exhibit will open on the same day as the exhibit, Invention at Play. Featuring 20 handmade sculptures brought to life by tiny cranks, pulleys, and gears, Cabaret Mechanical Theatre celebrates the essence of tinkering with whimsy and humor. Invention at Play and Cabaret Mechanical Theatre will be open daily during regular museum hours after their October 19 opening.
www.smm.org
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Art for Science Education
In San Francisco on November 10, over thirty artists and scientists from around the world offer important works of art and stunning scientific images for auction, to support the math and science education organization GalaxyGoo. These artists are contributing beautiful art that draws its inspiration from science and math. The Art Intersect Science art show and benefit event (with silent auction) will be held at Lucid Gallery near Union Square in San Francisco. GalaxyGoo is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing science literacy. “With funding for our schools declining even faster than math and science scores, GalaxyGoo provides an important new resource to help teachers and students,” said Kristin Henry, GalaxyGoo founder.
http://www.galaxygoo.org/whoarewe/benefit_2005.html
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Origami
The convergence of art and science occurs daily in the Fermilab Art Gallery. It is a space for art exhibitions such as the current “Origami” exhibit by three artists.
http://www.fnal.gov/pub/Art_Gallery/current_show/index.html
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Visions of Nature
“The World of Walter Anderson,” if not affected by Hurricane Katrina, will be showing at the Bell Museum (Minneapolis) November 5, 2005–February 5, 2006.
Artist Walter Inglis Anderson (1903–1965) lived most of his adult life in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where he painted the native flora and fauna of the Gulf Coast. For months at a time he lived alone on offshore islands as he immersed himself in the natural world. In a process he called “realization,” he produced thousands of watercolors of birds, insects, turtles, and crabs that vividly express his search for meaning and harmony in nature.
A diagnosed schizophrenic, Anderson's eccentric life left him largely unknown outside his hometown. A recent exhibition at the Smithsonian and two new books about his life and art have awakened interest in his forgotten talent. Art in America magazine has praised him as the abstract heir to John James Audubon. Through watercolors and sketches, the Bell Museum brings Anderson's work to a Minnesota audience for the first time in an exhibition that explores the intersection of art, nature, and science.
www.bellmuseum.org
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Art of Science
Science is thought to be a straightforward and logical exploration of the natural world, while art is imaginative and fanciful. In reality, science and art go hand in hand to complete our understanding of the vast universe that surrounds us. Explore our universe from an aesthetic perspective and learn how discovery is as much an art as it is a science at the American Museum of Natural History (New York). This talk by Chris Impey, Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona, will explore the ways we've learned about the universe we live in, make parallels to art and music, and show that discovery is as much an art as it is a science. Monday, October 17.
http://www.amnh.org/programs/hayden/#frontierastro
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Science & the Arts Series
Some of the programs in this fall’s Science and the Arts series at CUNY (New York) are:
* Visual Art & the Brain: At the Interface of Art and Science
Saturday, November 5 10am-6pm
*Magic, Songs, and Comedy
Monday, November 7 7pm
*Perpetual Motion: Revolutions in 17th Century Science and Music
Monday, November 28 6pm
The Science & the Arts series presents programs in theatre, art, music, and dance that bridge the worlds of art and science. Most programs are free, but please reserve your seats in advance by phone or email.
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/sciart/sciart.htm#visual
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Creativity Courses in New York City and Europe
Creativity Workshop, taught by Master Teachers Shelley Berc and
Alejandro Fogel, occurs November 11 - 14 in New York City and in the spring and summer there are workshops in Europe (Crete, Provence, Florence, Barcelona, Prague and Dublin). Founded in 1993, the Creativity Workshop is dedicated to teaching people about their creativity and how to use it in all aspects of life, work, and creative expression. These workshops help participants develop creative skills, expanded sense perception, innovative problem solving, inspired brainstorming, and new ways of looking at life as exciting and transformative. The only requirements for the Creativity Workshop are curiosity about the creative process and a sense of playfulness.
http://www.creativityworkshop.com
POTPOURRI
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Sir Isaac's Sci-Art Jam
In celebration of the opening of the new exhibit, Sir Isaac's Loft: Where Art and Physics Collide, The Franklin Institute (Philadelphia) hosted Sir Isaac's 28-Hour Sci-Art Jam. Six Sir Isaac's Sci-Art Jam grant recipients were given a thousand dollars and 28 hours to create art based on one of the themes represented in Sir Isaac's Loft*. The six themes in Sir Isaac's Loft are:
*Changing The Light: Changing the light changes what you see.
*Chain Reactions: Chain reactions need a push to get started and then keep going.
*Combining Motions: Combining simple motions creates complex patterns.
*Physics Feats Of Strength: Knowing physics allows you to do things that you could not before.
*Energy Transfer: Energy can be transferred from one thing to another or from one form to another.
*Illusions: Artists use science to fool with your brain
Check out images* and clips from the Sci/Art Jam at:
http://www.fi.edu/tfi/exhibits/jam.html
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Mandalas
For the past two years, David Bookbinder has been taking pictures of flowers and manipulating the images to form mandalas. He hopes to make a book of images and words, e.g., quotes, species histories, relationships to literature and/or culture and/or art as well as other information. Ed Hessler, a reader who forwarded this, says, “They remind me of kaleidoscope images but the colors are much more dazzling. One thing you might try, as I did, was to see whether I could identify the flower in question from the mandala alone.”
http://flowermandalas.blogspot.com/
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Please let us know of other art-science opportunities. E-mail Bruce Jones at bjones@blakeschool.org
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Each month you should find a variety of articles, web site reviews, curriculum resources, professional development opportunities and stimulating relevant potpourri. Development of this newsletter and its accompanying web site has been supported by a generous grant to The Blake School, a PreK-12 college preparatory school in Minneapolis.
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