California Institute of Technology
Exhibition Opening Sept 27, 11am -4pm
September 27–December 14, 2024
Pasadena, CA. The first artwork visitors encounter in the landmark exhibition Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020 consists of seven sculptures by artist Shana Mabari titled Spectrum Petals. The mirrored, spectral-colored cylinders, each 38–48 inches in diameter, guide visitors along the architecturally ornate Bechtel Mall and to the first section of the exhibition, The Infinite Lawn, inside the Ronald and Maxine Laboratory for Global Environmental Science building. Crossing Over is part of the region-wide Getty initiative PST Art: Art & Science Collide and is on display through December 14, 2024.
The forms that comprise Spectrum Petals are part of Mabari’s series Diametros Petals (2016– ), which can be said to epitomize the longstanding connection of Mabari, a Los Angeles native, to the aesthetic concerns of the Light and Space artists of Southern California, several of whom are also represented in Crossing Over. More broadly, the sculptures are representative of the artist’s career-long engagement with technical scientific fields and her denial of the academic dichotomization of “arts and science”—a denial that itself is now the focus of the Getty’s expansive art initiative.
“More than 20 years ago my first collaborations with Caltech scientists crystallized my interest in exploring the intersections between science and art, and that’s been a throughline in my practice ever since,” Mabari says. “This presentation of the Petals feels especially significant.”
In their geometric framing and precision fabrication, the forms of Spectrum Petals would seem almost inherently “scientific,” combined with the fact that their spectral colors correspond to the narrow band on the electromagnetic radiation spectrum that constitutes visible light, from 750 to 380 nm (red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet). Yet their immediate recognition as sculpture places them on a continuum of artistic expression whose lineage stretches back millennia. This play between science and art, coupled with the work’s scale and reflective surfaces, energizes the viewer’s reading of the symbolism of the rainbow and of flower petals, inviting a dynamic reengagement with these near-universal representations of joy and harmony.
The Caltech presentation situates Spectrum Petals so that the work’s mirrored surfaces reflect not only the historical Mission-style arcades of Bechtel Mall and their rich botanical and zoological carvings but also visitors themselves, immediately situating them as part of the exhibition while collapsing the age-old dichotomy of “viewer” and “object.”
“This show will no doubt bring hundreds of folks to Caltech who may never have set foot on campus,” Mabari says. “So in that context, what does it mean to see oneself go from ‘apart from’ to ‘a part of’ this world-renowned scientific research institution, which echoes my own experience.”
Mabari’s engagement with Caltech began in 2002, when she started designing optical illusion environments for Dr. Shinsuke Shimojo, currently the Gertrude Baltimore Professor of Experimental Psychology. Their work was exhibited in venues such as the Vision Sciences Society meetings in Sarasota, Florida, and at Close Encounters: Science Meets Art (2007) at the National Taiwan University in Taipei. The pair was awarded a patent in 2004 for their Dynamic Spatial Illusions. Mabari has also collaborated with experts in robotics, engineering, and neuromorphic engineering. In 2018, she became the first artist to fly aboard a mission of NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), which was followed by another groundbreaking artist residency in 2020 aboard a mission of the international ocean conservation organization Sea Shepherd Global off the coast of West Africa.
The artist extends her most sincere gratitude to the organizers of Crossing Over, Dr. Claudia Bohn-Spector, independent curator, and Dr. Peter Sachs Collopy, University Archivist and Head of Archives and Special Collections at Caltech. Generous sponsorship for this presentation of Spectrum Petals is provided by The Island.
September 27 – December 15, 2024
Wednesday–Sunday 11 am – 4 pm
Located on Caltech’s campus, the exhibition begins at Bechtel Mall on S. Wilson Ave., just north of E. California Blvd.
