Science Meets Art: A Colorful Affair, an Interview with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Author: Dr. Cecilia Ponce Rivera
Published: Fri 22 Sep 2023
Episode Link: https://seesee.podigee.io/s1e9-science-meets-art-a-colorful-affair-an-interview-with-rafael-lozano-hemmer

A body and environmental detector that translates heat into an explosion of colors, giant stick-figure puppets, a river of fluid letters, voices recorded and translated into beautiful color shades, monumental chandeliers imitating the sun’s temperature, a bridge connected by lights and thousands of heartbeats forming valleys upside-down dazzling in the dark: his immerse installations are pure science fiction.

A strong sense of literacy in his use of LED lights, robotics, computerized surveillance and telematic networks translated into a restrained use of color, leaves no doubt for the viewer: Rafael, Lozano-Hemmer is by no means a techno optimistic. Known for avoiding excesses such as “architeinment”, that tend to jeopardize cities’ individual character through homogenizing forces, truth is, this artist longs for two sorts of color-light effects: the one which places the spectator somewhere between cathartic playfulness and awareness, and that produced violently either by men or by nature. Meet Mexican-Canadian scientist and artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer at the crossroads between architecture and artistic expression, in a rendezvous that will summon you to witness the explosive affair between art and science, an encounter in which, the presence of technology will indeed, be inevitable.

Shownotes:

Website Rafael Lozano-Hemmer:
https://www.lozano-hemmer.com

Border Tuner
https://www.bordertuner.net

A crack in the hourglass. A memorial for the victims of COVID-19
https://memorialcovid-lozano-hemmer.web.app/?lang=en

Crystal Bridges – Museum of American Art
https://crystalbridges.org/calendar/listening-forest-rafael-lozano-hemmer/

Images of some pieces:
https://www.lozano-hemmer.com/showimageemb.php?proj=bordertuner_sintonizadorfronterizo&img=usamexico2019&idproj=336&type=artwork&id=1

https://www.lozano-hemmer.com/showimageemb.php?proj=clouddisplay&img=manchester_2019&idproj=348&type=artwork&id=20

https://www.lozano-hemmer.com/showimageemb.php?proj=pulsetopology&img=basel_2022&idproj=362&type=artwork&id=1

https://www.lozano-hemmer.com/showimageemb.php?proj=bodymovies&img=rotterdam_2001&idproj=6&type=artwork&id=1

Atmospheric Memory exhibition in Sydney
https://powerhouse.com.au/program/atmospheric-memory

https://amp.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/new-show-may-make-you-feel-like-you-re-being-watched-that-s-because-you-are-20230811-p5dvq2.html

https://amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/aug/12/rafael-lozano-hemmers-atmospheric-memory-exhibition-powerhouse-museum-sydney-things-to-do-weekend