[SLIPPAGE]: How, exactly, do you create your art? Do you use a computer, a specific program? What inspires you - - the scientific data, the daily happenings around you both small and large, or something else?



EGS: I am very excited about making work. Sometimes my head is so full of ideas that I have to work hard to simplify the concepts and try not to make images overridden with complexity. This of course is a double challenge, given that a lot of the content that I am currently dealing with in science is complex and I strive to tease out various elements that I can regroup and create an image that engages the viewer aesthetically and inquisitively.



I enjoy working with a range of materials, making notes, using ink pen sketches, taking pictures, etc. I visually note ideas I get during meetings, jotting down quick descriptions. I then use these in the structure of embedding detail into the image via computer and composition of new work.



I work with Photoshop using Maya and MeshLab for 3D work and Premiere for video. All these overlap at some stage as I move images between programs depending on the final work to be produced. Some scientific data requires special software depending on the code; in this case I collaborate with the scientist and we exchange data and files. This has proved to be a rewarding relationship in that we benefit from the influence of each other’s research and the impact of the opportunities that we can share.



[SLIPPAGE]: Are there any artistic movements or artists that you feel influenced your work?



EGS: Living in London for my postgraduate study, post-pop art and punk era was certainly exciting although I tended to hang out in the museums, drawing directly from cultural artefacts, museum exhibits and monumental architectural sculptures. An interesting mix, and given my interdisciplinary and experimental nature, I was certainly influenced by the “how and why” of things and eager to produce ambitious works with all the challenge of message verses medium and visa versa.



These influences in my work are from a number of artistic and cultural sources, cross-disciplinary interests and collaborations with other people.  I enjoy a nomadic creative practice  approach with interconnectedness to science and art, including the advantages of new technology, the internet and social media. I also employ traditional methods of research and enjoy the playfulness in working hands-on at the studio.

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[SLIPPAGE]: Have any scientific discoveries or particular scientists/scientific organizations influenced the creative process behind these pieces?



EGS: Before joining the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), I was fortunate to be a visiting researcher with National ICT Australia (NICTA) working with the e-Government Theme. It was incredibly exciting to be immersed into an organisation totally dedicated to information and communication technology research and to be attached to e-Government research, given that little was understood about this area in the public domain and yet it has such a vital impact. It certainly fitted with my artistic interests in citizenship and identity; however, the real excitement was in uncovering the scientific innovation and intellectual achievement in a visual language and artworks that communicate between users, government and public. This scientific world of computer science, data structures and architecture was so unfamiliar to me that I become more drawn to its ultimate abstract sensibility and obscure beauty. This experience with NICTA certainly spurred my interest in working with research organization and using science communication in artistic practice.



ART-SPECIFIC (click on the piece's title if you wish you view the piece; interview questions can also be found on the piece-specific pages)



[SLIPPAGE]: In "BreadScape" what exactly, does the topography represent? Do the spikes represent increases in elasticity?



EGS: Breadscape and Compositional Blends are represented as a world  where structures and landscape are defined as texture and surface... a world where a hole can lead to a tunnel and the strength of connected tunnels can create huge strength and expanse.



[SLIPPAGE]: What kind of bread did you model here (rye, whole wheat, white)?



EGS: In BreadScape, the bread is multigrain; in Compositional Blend, it is high fibre white. 



[SLIPPAGE]: Why did you create this piece?



EGS: Actually, I made this work with three interesting science stories in mind. They relate to ingredients in bread, manufacturing processes ,and bioinformatics, respectively. First, I had the opportunity to visit a huge commercial bakery and experience automated production of bread and scale of operation; second, I was inspired by CSIRO’s research in creating mathematical models of bread texture to understand how porosity affects bread texture; third, I found the use of compositional data in food futures to be very fascinating.

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[SLIPPAGE]: "MAGICal Cluster II" and "MAGICal Cluster Blue" are part of the 9x9x9x9x9x9x9x9x9 project/ category. What is the 9x9x9x9x9x9x9x9x9 project/category?



EGS: During my investigation of wheat-related images, I realised that 2-dimensional images were limited in the way that I wished to represent my ideas regarding spatial concepts. As a rather simple exercise, I devised a mathematical rule of 9. Basically, I decided that the image should be mapped to a colour range of 9 colours and that each colour between 1-9 should be mapped and represented as a shape. As a starting point I chose ‘MAGICal A’  as the image to deconstruct; a new series of works were produced using 9 different stencils.

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[SLIPPAGE]: In the title of the pieces, why is "magic" capitalized? Was it emphasize the artistic qualities of the piece?



EGS: MAGIC  is actually a research technique by CSIRO Food Futures Flagship scientists as an innovative technique to increase the speed and efficiency of wheat breeding. This is what my images were based on so I used the term ‘MAGICal’.



[SLIPPAGE]: What kind of shapes did you mix together? Why? Does the choice of shape have anything to do with "Sequence of 9"?



EGS: The shapes were defined by the arrangement of the set of same numbers mapped to the colour and located on the image, MAGICal A.



[SLIPPAGE]: Why do you choose a grid as a background?



EGS: The grid is there as a reference to the process in making the shapes as it provided a key marker when aligning the numbers and shapes. It also acts as a divisional plane, something contradictory to the irregular shapes.



[SLIPPAGE]: What kind of effect did you originally intend for these pieces to have on the reader?



EGS: On first viewing, I hope that the images are attractive in their energetic and cubistic array of colour and interesting shapes. On closer viewing, the numbers and clustering become more evident with the colours revealing a hint of transparency and other shapes. I am happy if the viewer is content with this experience but hopefully there will be a question of how and why and this is my cue to provide additional information.



[SLIPPAGE]: Why did you create this piece?



EGS: As mentioned earlier, my images were moving towards a more 3-dimensional space and at this stage I was looking for a graphical device to experiment with illusion in a 2-dimensional way. Both MAGICal A & B are concerned with spatial dimensions ranging from the representation of the wheat genome to seed and crossbreeding.



[SLIPPAGE]: Eleanor, you were originally trained as an artist. How did you become interested in creating science-related art?



EGS: I have always had an interest in science and art, although in my early education I never quite pushed the maths side of things to take science subjects to a higher level. Science was not taught in such an exciting way that it is in schools today and I am sure that given the chance again I would certainly explore so much more.



From my background as a postgraduate student at the University of the Arts, I was immersed in many cultural art organisations in London and became interested in the aesthetics and dynamics between objects and artifacts, including the process of scientific enquiry, preservation and reconstruction. Since then, the connection between science and art has been a recurring theme in my work and I decided to pursue my research interests in science art at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) at the Australian National University. This was such an exciting step as I found the interdisciplinary balance of research expertise, exploratory investigation and science communication leadership to be an important intersection for my practice.

[SLIPPAGE]: As an artist-scientist, how do you feel about the rift between the arts and the sciences?

EGS: Although differences exist between the fields of art and science, it is these intersections that reveal the most exhilarating invention for collaboration and mutual discovery for scientist and artist.  Certainly, from my own experience of working within scientific organisations, it has been a unique symbiosis of creativity and intellect, a synergy that translates new ideas into a parallel value system for the organisation as well as an important statement regarding the benefits of the science art outcomes.

I certainly think that this is a very exciting opportunity to be creative and to be of value, especially as there are many established science/art based organisations and artists working in this area today. The field is wide open with many models of practice to explore and to search for opportunities that fit within your particular interests.

[SLIPPAGE]: As an art educator, how do you feel schools (and teachers) can encourage greater interplay between the arts and sciences?


EGS: There is certainly a great opportunity to use programs such as Artists in Schools and Scientists in Schools as way to encourage direct contact and mentorship for youngsters. During a previous role, as Deputy Director of the Australian Science Festival, it was a brilliant year to foster all kinds of science activities with organisations, national tourist attractions, artists, musicians performers, scientists, schools, etc., and generally get involved and enjoy. Many events were family focused so that the enjoyment and learning could be shared.

Personally, I have found the experience of working with groups of children very rewarding as I had the opportunity to run some workshops relating to my PhD research, ‘FingerCodes,’ at CPAS. Devising a science art workshop was very exciting and much fun to see the results produced by the children and to analyse their visual interpretations.

[SLIPPAGE]: As a digital media artist, how do you feel your medium reflects both art and science?

I am very fortunate this year to have been awarded the Centenary of Canberra, Science Art Commission. The award is significant as one of the first major science art commissions in the Australian Capital Territory based at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, as well as at the Mathematics, Informatics, and Statistics Organisation, and the Food Futures Flagship.



The residency is a tremendous opportunity to share my artistic creativity and expertise in collaboration with scientists at CSIRO and to create a public artwork for the Centenary of Canberra.



Technology through CSIRO has enabled me to access a range of important and relevant information, both as visual imaging and information data. In fact, the residency itself places me in direct contact with scientists and technology available in the laboratory, out in the field and online. Working in collaboration with scientists in relation to 3D reconstruction of plants, insects and microscopic specimens has enabled me to use tools for visualization via 3D scanning and manipulation.



The technology helps build visual content and production but arguably the synergy and inventiveness between artist and scientist drives the means to advance the concept and visual challenge of science art communication.



Working in digital media certainly has an advantage to deliver art and message across various artistic platforms, such as large format architectural projection. I am one of the artists selected to work with Electric Canvas and feature in Canberra’s ‘Enlighten’.  I have applied my science art interests on some of the National Capital’s iconic buildings, including the National Library of Australia, the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House and the National Portrait Gallery and Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre.

BIO: Eleanor Gates-Stuart is a UK born practicing artist living in Australia, Honorary Research Professor at UC Santa Cruz, and Science Art Fellow at CSIRO. Eleanor is undertaking a PhD at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University.



References:

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Eleanor Gates-Stuart: www.eleanorgatestuart.com
FingerCodes: http://www.eleanorgatestuart.com.au/Finger_Codes.html
StellrScope: www.stellrscope.com
Enlighten: http://enlightencanberra.com.au/event-info/architectural-projections/
CSIRO: http://www.csiro.au

Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS): http://cpas.anu.edu.au
NICTA: http://www.nicta.com.au
Centenary of Canberra: http://www.canberra100.com.au/programs/centenary-science-art-commission/

 



The Centenary Science Art Commission is jointly funded by the ACT Government and the Australian Government and is one of many projects taking place to mark the Centenary of Canberra in 2013.​

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StellrScope will be completed in August 2013 and displayed at Questacon and the CSIRO Discovery Centre in Canberra.