“Art & Science Collide” at UCLA
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ST ART, the largest arts event in the United States, returns this fall with the theme “Art & Science Collide.” The Getty’s arts event brings together 800 artists and 70 cultural institutions across Southern California to engage audiences in art as a way of understanding the natural world. UCLA received nearly $2 million in grants, making it the largest granted recipient. The collaboration between scientific research and artistic expression is a perfect forum for UCLA, with its long tradition of interdisciplinary, cross-campus research.
UCLA museums, professional schools and departments are all contributing to PST ART, including The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The UCLA Art | Sci Center, founded to bridge the gap between media arts and bio/nano sciences.
Art | Sci is presenting “Atmosphere of Sound: Sonic Art in Times of Climate Disruption,” to explore how sound can connect audiences to a deeper understanding of the effects of climate change. The exhibit is co-curated by Victoria Vesna, artist, professor in Design Media Arts and founder of Art | Sci, and Anuradha Vikram, writer, curator and lecturer. As Vikram explains, “We are going for the heart to address the reality of a changing climate. We believe very strongly in the UCLA community, and we want to create a different sense of what is possible.”
“Atmosphere of Sound” will feature exhibitions by 13 artists who use sound and vibration to create innovative works of art. The exhibition will feature interactive installations, live performances and sound walks. For example, Katie Grinnan, M.F.A. ’99, created two copper cephalopod forms, “The Sensitives,” with touch-sensitive iridescent suckers. When pressed they play a tone that was derived from a fragment of an octopus’ genetic material. Amber Stucke’s sound art installation, “Talking to Plants,” uses two vinyl recordings played simultaneously that were created in response to the questions, “What is the idea of a plant and how would you talk to it?”
The power of sound and vibration creates art that goes beyond the visual, and engages the audience on a physical and emotional level. Vikram says, “Climate change is something that you can't always see, so we wanted to speak to people in different ways about these issues. We think of this exhibition as restorative to keep us going another day. This is a public campus, and we feel strongly that public art is important to reflect conditions that affect everyone.”
The inaugural piece in “Atmosphere of Sound” is the American premier of artist Bill Fontana’s “Silent Echoes: Notre-Dame and the Dachstein Glacier.” With a career spanning 50 years, Fontana uses sound as his medium. His piece is a duet between the sound vibrations of a melting glacier in the Austrian alps and the undamaged but dormant bells of Notre-Dame after the 2019 fire, which he recorded with a scientific vibrometer. The six-channel sound sculpture will be amplified from UCLA’s Royce Hall and at the Nimoy Theater from Sept. 14 through Oct. 5.
Fontana says, “Notre Dame is an incredible cultural icon that was nearly destroyed by fire. Climate change is like a fire that’s destroying the planet. So the idea of having Notre Dame’s bells bear witness to the melting glacier is a reminder of our interconnectedness and the fragility of our world.” He continues, “It makes sense to have Notre Dame’s resonating bells coming out of this historic building, although Royce’s towers have never held bells.”
You can find the PST ART exhibitions and events at UCLA through May 25, 2025.
UCLA Film & Television Archive in partnership with UCLA Cinema & Media Studies Program
“Science Fiction Against the Margins,” Oct. 4 - Dec. 14, 2024, Billy Wilder Theater
This 12-night series showcases innovative sci-fi films beyond the mainstream.
”Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice,” ongoing through Jan. 5, 2025
This contemporary exhibit considers climate change, environmental justice and social justice through art.
”Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal: Tanya Aguiñiga & Porfirio Gutiérrez en Conversación/in Conversation,” ongoing through Jan. 12, 2025
A multivocal exhibition that focuses on immigration and labor justice through ancestral knowledge and technical experimentation.
"Fire Kinship: Southern California Ecology and Native Art," ongoing through May, 25, 2025
The exhibition argues for a return to Native fire practices, in which fire is regarded as a vital aspect of land stewardship, community wellbeing, and tribal sovereignty.
“Atmosphere of Sound: Sonic Art in Times of Climate Disruption,” Ongoing through May, 31, 2025
Thirteen artists bring interactive installations, live performances, sound walks and more experiences that demonstrate that ambiguities of sound can help audiences understand the rapidly shifting state of the climate and its effects on the physical world.
“Conscious Tether: Art and the Internet in LA,” Oct. 5 - 20, 2024
Contemporary artists living and working in Los Angeles respond to work on and with the internet.
The UCLA Center for the Art of Performance
“Live Night: Cruising Bodies, Spirits and Machines,” co-presented by CAP UCLA and REDCAT at The United Theater on Broadway, Dec. 7, 2024
A night of experimental performances by Rafa Esparza, MUXX collective, among others.
Getty's PST ART (formerly Pacific Standard Time) can be found throughout Southern California through May 2025. For more information, visit their website.
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