The first artwork visitors encounter in the landmark exhibition Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020 consists of seven sculptures 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.  

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 the focus of the Getty’s 2024 expansive art initiative.“  

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. 

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),  

Curated by Claudia Bohn-Spector. 
Generous sponsorship provided by The Island. 
Photo Credit : Joshua White Photography.  
Exhibition dates September 27 -  December 14, 2024.