String Theory Proposal

This fall the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University (NESADSU) will present String Theories. The project will feature artists, prominent physicists and academics who are interpreting the ideas in one of the most ambitious scientific physics theories ever, the “Theory of Everything” also known as String Theory.

This ambitious project proposes a multidisciplinary approach within the university, an outreach to other academic institutions and practice areas to form a unique all encompassing show. Joining academics, artists and the public in its truest form of a university’s mission to educate, collaborate and engage. Professors of physics, mathematics and four Boston artists will unite for a exciting and in-depth exploration of the groundbreaking new theories.

The centerpiece of the project will be the exhibition itself. It will feature the work of prominent Boston area artists: Paul Andrade, Lou Cohen, Keith Francis, and William Frese. The exhibition has been curated by James Manning, Interim Gallery Director at the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University.

The exhibit will be held at the NESADSU, Main Gallery, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, Massachusetts and will run from September 18th through October 24th 2008. The exhibit will feature several public events. There will be a public reception with the artists on Thursday, September 18th from 5 – 8pm. A public gallery talk with each of the artists presenting on their work will take place on Tuesday, October 7th at 1pm.

As a companion to the exhibition, there will also be a presentation of lectures and sound performances on Tuesday, September 23d from 1 - 2:30pm at the C. Walsh Theatre at Suffolk University, a 390 seat state-of-the-art theatre in the heart of Suffolk University’s main Beacon Hill campus.

Keith Francis
Blue Sea
Oil on board, 48” x 72” 2007

There will be a presentation on the tenets of String Theory by an invited member of the scientific community. Against the backdrop of William Frese’s short cycle film, James Coleman and Lou Cohen will perform an improvisation inspired by String Theory and by the works presented in the String Theory Exhibit. The improvisation provides a historical bracketing of two electronic instruments. James Coleman’s Theremin represents one of the very first electronic instruments invented (1919), while Lou Cohen’s laptop computer, running Csound, a programmable synthesizer, represents one of the most recently developed electronic instruments.

Throughout history there has been a connection between artist and scientist. This exhibition and the related events will
continue that tradition focusing on the controversial String Theory, which in simplistic terms is an attempt to unite the laws of the large— general relativity — and the laws of the small — quantum mechanics. In String Theory, the fundamental ingredients of nature are inconceivably tiny strands of energy, whose different modes of vibration underlie all that happens in the universe. This exhibit promises to be a launching pad for discussion amongst artists, academics and students in the Boston area. Using the resources of NESADSU, it is our goal to collaborate with and bring in members of the scientific community. The objective of this project is not simply to present thoughts on String Theory but to offer insight on the ideas presented in the artist’s works and to be a part of the education and outreach process of the NESADSU Gallery and Suffolk University, to the general public. To aid in this discussion the project will feature an illustrated catalogue comprising essays by the artists, scientists and writers from the area’s leading universities. Collaborators will be given an honorarium for their contributions.