Texas has become a hub for attracting cross-disciplinary leaders. The next ATX LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) on March 12 will gather many of these thought leaders and innovators together. This panel of Texas-based practitioners reflects the diversity and interests of the growing network, which seeks to become the leading advocate for collaboration among the sciences, engineering, arts and design, fostering innovation and learning that impact community sustainability and economic growth.
WHAT: ATX LASER: Where Art Intersects Science in Austin
WHERE: Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum, 605 Robert E. Lee Rd, Austin, TX 78704
WHEN: 7:00pm – 9:30pm, March 12, 2015
RSVP: atxlaser.eventbrite.com
MEDIA: For more information contact Diane Sikes at programs@umlaufsculpture.org and 512-445-5582
Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum presents
ATX LASER: Where Art Meets Science in Austin
Interactive series gives new insight into seemingly opposing worlds
AUSTIN, TEXAS—Inspired by a noticeable trend of growing interest in the convergence of art, science and technology, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum (Umlauf) in partnership with Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology will host its fourth ATX LASER (Austin – Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) event March 12. The engaging series is free and open to the public.
Guest speakers will include:
Interactive artist and researcher Jinsil Hwaryoung Seo.
Jinsil Hwaryoung Seo focuses on aesthetics of interactive experience. Currently she is an assistant professor in the Department of Visualization at the College of Architecture and a faculty fellow in the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M University. With interdisciplinary, interactive art practice, Seo investigates the intersection between body, nature and technology. Her current research concentrates on designing for tangible and kinetic aesthetics in the contexts of performance, child development and health.
Artist, scientist, and creative catalyst Ruth West.
Ruth West envisions a future in which art + science integration opens new portals of imagination, invention, knowledge, and communication across cultures to create breakthrough solutions for our most pressing global problems. Ruth directs the xREZ Art + Science Lab and is an associate professor at the University of North Texas cross-appointed in the College of Visual Art and Design (New Media Art & Design), College of Information (Information Sciences), College of Engineering (Computer Science) and College of Arts and Sciences (Biological Sciences).
Artist and cross-disciplinary collaborator Carol LaFayette.
Carol LaFayette collaborates with scientists and engineers to invent unique experiences based on interactions among flora, fauna, and humans in rural landscapes. Her work with leafcutting ants is documented in the PBS series “State of Tomorrow:” the first 3D, immersive map of a vast Atta texana colony. Carol’s artwork is in collections at the Museum of Modern Art, New Museum of Contemporary Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. She has exhibited interactive installations and video worldwide, including LAB ’11, Sweden; SIGGRAPH; Zebra Poetry on Film, Berlin; Filmstock, UK; and Solomon Projects, Atlanta. Reviews and papers have been published in BBC Technology News, Wired, and Leonardo. She is Professor in the Department of Visualization and Director of the Institute for Applied Creativity at Texas A&M University. Carol serves as Principal Investigator of an NSF-supported project to form the SEAD network for collaboration among the sciences, engineering, arts, and design.
Assistant Professor of Behavioral and rain Sciences Gagan Wig.
Dr. Wig’s research program uses a combination of structural and functional imaging tools to understand the organization of large-scale human brain networks and how these networks change over the adult-lifespan. He uses this information to guide studies related to mnemonic and attentional processes, with a particular focus on understanding the sources of individual differences in memory and attention and how they may be modified by aging and disease. In collaboration with Dr. Roger Malina¹s ArtSci lab at UTD, Dr. Wig has been exploring ways to Œdramatize¹ brain connectome data using dynamic representations that incorporate sight and sound. He will present an overview of some the recent insight revealed in his studies of brain connectivity networks and aging, and how data dramatization may reveal novel ways of understanding and appreciating the complex patterns that are present throughout the connections in our brains.
Discussion will be moderated by Roger Malina, space scientist and astronomer. Malina is a Distinguished Professor of Art and Technology and Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Executive Editor of the Leonarndo Publications at MIT Press.
Following the speaker presentations, an open discussion will commence where participation is welcomed and encouraged from all attendees. For more information about ATX LASER and other Umlauf events, please visit umlaufsculpture.org
About ATX LASER
ATX LASER was conceived by J.D. Talasek, UMLAUF scholar-in-residence, in partnership with the nonprofit Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology (Leonardo/ISAST). Talasek is Director of Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. and the founder of the D.C. Art Science Evening Rendezvous (DASER) program. His co-organizers for ATX LASER are Katie Robinson Edwards, PhD., UMLAUF Curator, and Diane Sikes, UMLAUF Director of Programs.
About Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology
The Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology (Leonardo/ISAST) is a nonprofit organization that serves the global network of distinguished scholars, artists, scientists, researchers, and thinkers through programs focused on interdisciplinary work, creative output and innovation. Visit the Leonardo/ISAST website for more information at www.leonardo.info
About the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
Founded in 1991, The Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization established around a vast collection of work by American sculptor Charles Umlauf who donated his home, studio and 168 pieces of sculpture to the City of Austin. The property was then transformed into a sculpture garden and exhibits the work of the prolific artist.
The museum’s mission is to provide educational experiences that encourage understanding and appreciation of sculpture in a natural setting through workshops, classes, tours and exhibitions.
The year 2014 marks the expansion of the museum’s initiatives, including the connection of the museum to the residence and studio of Charles Umlauf as well as the update and extenuation of the museum’s educational and public programming, benefiting the Austin community and visitors from across the world.