Our current artist resident Laura Splan, has also done many interesting projects in the past and currently learning some of the other platforms used in imaging molecular data at the Integral Molecular lab.
In Manifest series (2015), she examines the potential of objects to embody human experiences and to materialize the intangible. Corporeal expressions of wonder are the basis of data-driven sculptures, where electromyography (EMG) recordings of electrical activity produced by her body are incorporated in defining forms that showcase: Swallow, Blink Twice, Squint, Furrow, Frown, and Smile—a careful consideration of the recorded movements as they related to notions of wonder.
2015, laser sintered polyamide nylon, 8”H x 4.75”W x 4.75”D each
Each activity produced unique data that was captured by an EMG device and later translated into a curve using custom software written by the artist. Each curve serves as a profile for a different 3D printed sculpture.
In another series, frenetic imagery is formed from EMG data collected while performing tasks and expressions with her own body to create digitally woven tapestries that examine notions of labor and craft as they relate to material and technology. By combining hand and digital processes with traditional textiles and new media technologies, the series destabilizes and interrogates how each is categorized and valued. The narrative implications of these categories are mined for their potential to explore how technology, data, and cultural artifacts mediate our understanding of the human body. (*)
2016, computerized jacquard loom woven cotton, 70”H x 53”W each
Check out some of Laura’s other projects here.
(*) Laura Splan (http://www.laurasplan.com/embodied-objects)
