scientific visions

SCIENTIFIC VISIONS MIA BABALIS DEBRA BAXTER & ZACK BENT CATHERINE CHALMERS DAVID GUTIERREZ MARGOT QUAN KNIGHT CHARLES LINDSAY BEN WEINER

When I looked up "science" in the thesaurus, "art" was one of the synonyms to appear. I found this intriguing and possibly a mistake, so I looked up science in the dictionary. The first definition is: the state of knowing: knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding. Contextualizing art within this definition made me think about how, for a long time, artists have been considered visionaries when it comes to seeing things in new lights and exploring ways to expand human perception. Though they are usually categorized in the opposite class as scientists, artists often approach a subject the same way scientists do; observing and experimenting over and over again until they reach the results (or not) that they desire.

Scientific Visions is a collection of videos that demonstrates this intersection between art and science. It includes artists who combine technology (video) with art to study something they have observed in the world. Ben Weiner’s Opening documents paint at a microscopic level. Mia Babalis’ installation is inspired by her interest in extinct birds and flower species. Charles Lindsay’s film visually displays his explorations of Carbon. Catherine Chalmers’ Safari follows a cockroach through a studio-constructed tropical paradise. Getting The Love Want (practice), a collaboration between Debra Baxter and Zack Bent, documents the breath of two people gives as a three dimensional object, acting as an ode to Baxter’s long struggle with asthma and a metaphor for attraction. David Gutierrez portrays his investigations of medical photographs used to display intersex genitalia. And Margot Knight’s Sur face explores the relationships between surface, reflection and object. In each of these instances, these artists have employed video to explore the place where art and science meet. – pauli ochi

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 Catherine Chalmers, install shot

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 Ben Weiner + Mia Babalis, install shot

  Ben Weiner, Mia Babalis + Ben Weiner video, install shot

Mia Babalis, Lazarus Taxa, still

Charles Lindsay, video still

  David Gutierrez, video still

for a complete preview of videos visit:

http://www.ochigallery.com/scientific_visions.html