Leaning Out of Windows: Emergence

Curated by Randy Lee Cutler + Ingrid Koenig

Leaning Out of Windows—Art + Physics Collaborations through Aesthetic Transformations (2016–21), a research creation project organized by faculty from Emily Carr University of Art+Design, explores how knowledge might be translated across the disciplinary communities of art and physics in order to develop a shared understanding of the cosmos. The project assesses methodologies of collaboration to develop ways to engage with the diverse languages employed by artists and physicists, namely between Emily Carr University and TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator centre.  What is shared is a space of mutual inspiration informing each other’s work in the search for new and emergent understanding of scientific phenomena. This exhibition and research project is organized by Randy Lee Cutler and Ingrid Koenig.

Working with the metaphor “leaning out of windows” the project investigates how a participant resides within their field of expertise while simultaneously inhabiting an expanded space of experimentation, risk and not knowing. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and understanding, scientists and artists were asked to engage in a collective process by responding to the topic of Emergence through associative thinking. Rather than getting the science topic right, the project focuses on an exchange of ideas from various perspectives and knowledge practices.

Leaning Out of Windows: Emergence is the second of two exhibitions. A Translation Hub will be held on Saturday January 25, 12:30-5pm, Rennie Hall, Emily Carr University. The panel will bring together artists, physicists, scholars and special guest panelists to discuss the project design, the exhibition and the exchange between artists and scientists. Panelists: Djuna Croon (theoretical physicist), Mimi Gellman (artist), Sanem Güvenç-Salgırlı (sociologist), David Morrissey (theoretical physicist), Ernesto Peña (designer/educator), Kimberly Phillips (art historian). 

The exhibition Leaning Out of Windows: Emergence represents the collaborative projects of 11 teams of artists, physicists and scholars:

Finding common ground via metaphor: Physicist: Luca Egoriti, Physicist: Oliver Stelzer-Chilton, Scholar: Shelly Rosenblum, Scholar/Artist: Henry Daniel, Artist: Carlyn Yandle (facilitator)

Based on…what?: Physicist: Carla Babcock, Scholar/Physicist: James Charbonneau, Artist: Erin Siddall, Artist: Keith Spencer (facilitator)

Entropic Recomposition: Physicist: Sarah Dunsiger, Scholar: Steven Barnes, Artist: Karen Kazmer, Artist: Ben Bogart, Artist: Robin Gleason (facilitator)       

Everything not forbidden is compulsory: Physicist: Pietro Giampa, Physicist: David McKeen, Scholar: Tara Ivanochko, Artist: Deborah Edmeades, Artist: Christine D’Onofrio, Artist: Jacqueline Turner (facilitator)

Decay: Physicist: Doug Bryman, Artist/Scholar: Denise Ferreira da Silva, Artist: Mark Igloliorte, Artist: Sara-Jeanne Bourget (facilitator)

Thinking like an Octopus: Physicist: David Morrissey, Scholar: Sanem Güvenç-Salgırlı, Artist: Holly Schmidt, Artist: Emma Soares (facilitator)

Visuality: Physicist: Patrick De Perio, Scholar: Alice Wang (facilitator), Artist: Gwenessa Lam, Artist: Marian Penner Bancroft

Knowing/Not Knowing/Unknowing: Physicist: Jess Brewer, Scholar/Artist: Randy Lee Cutler (facilitator), Artist: Deanna Peters, Artist: Lindsay McIntyre

Hidden Sector: Physicist: Djuna Croon, Scholar: Katherine Gillieson, Artist: Leó Stefánsson, Artist: prOphecy sun, Artist: Teo Monsalve (facilitator)

Coming into View: Physicist: Ewan Hill, Scholar: Sadira Rodrigues, Artist: Scott Billings, Artist: Roxanne Nesbitt, Artist: Russna Somal (facilitator)

Resonances: Physicist: Art Olin, Physicist: Des Ramsey, Scholar: Giorgio Magnanensi (facilitator), Artist: Brady Marks
 

About Leaning out of Windows
LOoW is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator centre. Organized by Randy Lee Cutler and Ingrid Koenig the project was developed in collaboration with Elvira Hufschmid, Margit Schild, LOoW research assistants, TRIUMF physicists Carla Babcock, Jess Brewer, Ewan Hill, David Morrissey, Art Olin, Marcello Pavan, Des Ramsey.

About Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Emily Carr University of Art + Design is a world leader in education and research. Encouraging experimentation at the intersections of art, design, media and technology, Emily Carr merges studio practice, research and critical theory in an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment. Founded in Vancouver in 1925 and situated on traditional, unceded Coast Salish territory, the university has nearly 2000 students enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs, and thousands more taking workshops, certificate programs and individual courses. Their faculty and alumni are internationally recognized as award-winning creators and thought leaders who have significant impact on both the cultural sector and the economy.
Contact: research@ecuad.ca.