Monica Sand (video
artist/sculptor) & Bjorn Jonson (physicist)
"Towers"
Muon sculpture in Gamla Gasverket (Old gasworks) in the harbour of Stockholm. August-December 1998 (Stockholm was Cultural Capital of Europe 98). 7 meters high and 5 meters in diameter. Each of the 5 groups of towers detects muons and indicate their different energies.
Title of Presentation: Acting Physics
Description of Project:
In the autumn of 1999 the sculpture group "Torn" (Towers) was placed at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm
as a concrete centre for "Acting Physics". The sculpture registers
muons originating from the cosmic radiation and translates them into light.
"Torn" is surrounded by a wall of glass blasted with the text
"Muon Song", which is a poetic contemplation on cosmic rays.
Theroom is filled with "Myons?ng", a piece of music with a temporal
structure similar to the one created by the cosmic rays. "Acting
Physics" was a project that continued for one year. Together artists
and scientists tried to make an interpretation of mathematics and physics,
each from their own point of view. The intent was to give physics an artistic
expression and to give the artistic world scientific reference points.
Background
It started 1996 when Chalmers Technical university
in Gothebourg invited artist Monica Sand http://home5.swipnet.se/~w-54849/
to make a sculpture for the corridor outside the physics library. She
intended to learn as much as possible about muons and made a sculpture
which detected muons in 16 detectors as a random play with light Light
Organ. This was a collaboration during one year between her and professor
Bjorn Jonson and two engineers. At the same time she started to collaborate
with the Manne Siegbahn Institute in Stockholm to try to develop the ideas
around muons and their different deposition of energy in the detectors.
She was most inspired by the experiment "Amanda" at the South
Pole were scientist try to detect muons in the ice to be able to find
neutrinos from the origin of the universe. The artistic result was "Towers" which was built for the Cultural Capital of Europe 98 in Stockholm, Sweden.
The sculpture moved to the Royal Institute of Technology and inspired
a lot of projects, among them a dance with 5 dancers - "Muon Spin",
seminars, a concerts about Quarks and music based on mathematics.
There was also a series of programs about contemporary poetry and physics.
"Acting Physics" started with pre-seminars to inspire artists
and scientists. The choreographer Gun Lund and her 5 dancers were educated
by researchers in mathematics and physics, to be able to create the dance
"Muon Spin". Acting physics and its programs was open to the
general public, in addition different kinds of schools were also specially
invited.
Website Address for Documentation Materials:
http://hem.fyristorg.com/StenSand/fysikensrum.htm
Since 1992 Monica Sand has worked to give artistic interpretations of
research in physics, in co-operation with scientists at CERN, Geneva and
the universities in Gothenburg, Stockholm and Link?ping in Sweden. In
her art she uses materials especially made for experiments in elementary
particle physics. She studies the scientific working process compared
to the artistic process. She sometimes works with dancers, poets and composers.
Art education: University of Gothenburg, Department of Design and Crafts, Master of Fine Art 1985-91
Honorary Doctor of Technology, Chalmers Technical University, Gothenburg, Sweden. 1999
Solo exhibitions
"Guides Lumieres" The Swedish Pavillion,
Seville 1992.
"Traces" Gallery Forum, Stockholm 1994
"Passing Light" Gallery Ars Nova, Goteborg 1995
"The Site" The House of Culture, Stockholm 1995
"To Capture Light" Kalmar Museum of Art 1996
"Silicon" Gallery RIX and Linkoping university 1997, Goteborg
Museum of Art
1998, New Forms, Ronneby 1999
"Muon" The Capital of Culture, Stockholm 1998.
"Images of Chaos" Backaskog Slott Juin 2000 comission the Nobel
institute
In between gravity and zerogravity http://www.zerogravity-art.nu
Group shows:
"Signatures of the Invisible" Co-operation between CERN and
London Institute, http://www.signatures.linst.ac.uk,
London, Rome, Geneve, Lisbon
"Container" Roda Sten, Goteborg 2000
Comissions and Sculptures in public
E-mail address: sand@swipnet.se
Address: Linnegatan 50, SE-413 08 Goteborg, Sweden
Website address: http://home5.swipnet.se/~w-54849/
Bjorn Jonson:
Degrees: Tekn. Lic. (1969), Tekn. Dr. (1973)
Main points of career:
1966 - 1969 Assistant Chalmers Tekniska Hogskola,
Goteborg
1970 - 1972 NFR research associate, CERN, Geneve, Schweiz
1972 - 1974 Fellow, CERN, Geneve, Schweiz
1974 - 1976 NFR research associate, CERN, Geneve, Schweiz
1976 - 1980 Staff Physicist, CERN, Geneve, Schweiz
1980 - 1984 Senior Staff Physicist, CERN, Geneve, Schweiz
1984 - 1985 NFR research associate,, Geneve, Schweiz
1985 - Professor of Physics, Chalmers Tekniska Higskola, Goteborg
Main research areas:
Research on radioactivity, nuclear structure,
beta decay, exotic decay modes, properties of far unstable nuclei, x-rays
and neutrino masses. Current experimental work, dealing with properties
of extremely unstable neutron-rich nuclei ("nucleon halos")
is based on work at ISOLDE PSB, CERN, and SIS-FRS-ALADIN-LAND, GSI and
LISE3, GANIL. At present 175 research papers including a number of review
articles. About 150 papers in conference proceedings.
E-mail address: bjn@fy.chalmers.se
Address: Avdelningen for Subatomar Fysik, Experimentell Fysik,
Chalmers Tekniska H?gskola och G?teborgs Universitet, S-412 96 GOTEBORG
Website address: http://fy.chalmers.se/subatom
Additional Collaborators:
Gun Lund, choreographer and Lars Persson, physician, art director for
the dancecompany E=mc2. Banehagsgatan 1J, SE-414 51 Goteborg, Sweden.
emc2.danskonst@telia.com
In addition a lot of researchers and artists from different fields (see the website)
