SciArt in America, New Online Magazine
By Julia Buntaine, January 2014
SciArt in America is a new online magazine dedicated to featuring science-based artists, hotspots, and conversation in the United States. Science-based art is a growing art movement around the world; it is my belief that in bringing together these elements in an online e-magazine format, we can bolster the presence of SciArt in the U.S., and at large.
While there are many aspects to the relationship, intersection, crossover of science and art, for me the real champions of the SciArt movement are the artists, and thus the work and words of science-based artists form the core of SciArt in America. Set in the Q&A format, our interviews explore the work, histories and processes of artists (visual and other arts) who came to science as their subjects, such as the fantastical sculptures byNathalie Miebach featured in our most recent issue, who creates mixed-media pieces based directly on the data from weather and storms. Artist Steve Miller has covered a variety of scientific topics throughout his prolific career, including paintings based on the movement of ions across cellular membranes. Then there are the artists who hold degrees in their science of artistic focus. Courtney Mattison, with a degree in environmental studies, creates ceramic sculptures to raise awareness of the vulnerability of marine flora and fauna. Jonathon Wells, from our October issue, is a practicing geologist and photographer, and creates gorgeous images of what lies below the earth’s surface.
Booming Demand by Steve Miller, 2012, pigment dispersion and silk screen on canvas, 61.5″x107″
If the artists form the core of each issue, it is our topical articles that form the backbone. There is so much, and such a variety of conversation to be had about SciArt. As science becomes more culturally central, it is only natural that art respond to that presence, a topic contributor Erik P. Hoel discusses in our first issue in his article, “Science as a Subject of Art.” In our second issue, we explored the line between science and art, and our day and age when scientific images are increasingly beautiful, discussed by our Managing Editor Ashley P. Taylor in her article “The Art of the Brain: “Brainbow” and the Difficulty of Distinguishing Science and Art.” Sometimes, in creating an issue a common theme will emerge among many elements, and the place of SciArt in the art world was on many minds this past December, including mine and Ashley’s, leading to our article “On The Fringe: SciArt in New York.”
Finally, there are the organizations and spaces that make science-art possible, and public. Organizations such asGenSpace laboratory in Brooklyn which artists can use to create laboratory-based work with materials like slime mold, galleries like Williamson Gallery in Pasadena, run by Stephen Nowlin who exclusively features SciArt.
The future of what we feature in SciArt in America is dependent on the future of both art and science, and the people bold enough to traverse the overlap – personally, I couldn’t think of more exciting forces to create a magazine. While there are many artists who have brushed up against science, it is the artists that have devoted themselves to science which I am interested in, simply because I think it makes for the most compelling work. Over the past few months it has been a surprise and delight to receive so many submissions, because it is proof that there is plenty of SciArt out there. Happy reading!