Jonathan Feldschuh’s “Large Hadron Collider #31 (SLAC)”AJAI RAJIn their own ways, science and art are both concerned with exploring what the human eye can’t always see. The awe that scientists experience at the elegance and intricacy of nature puts them in good company with artists, who often seek to render visible the beauty and humor hidden amid the minutiae of everyday life. The inaugural exhibit at New York City’s SciArt Center—which first opened its doors on Friday (June 20)—showcases artistic work that draws on the tools and techniques of science for inspiration. “What Lies Beneath” explores hidden worlds, from the subatomic to the geologic and more.
Jonathan Feldschuh’s “Large Hadron Collider #31 (SLAC)” depicts the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in Menlo Park, California, where researchers are developing new technology for upgrades of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. Feldschuh’s 2-D rendering of the particle accelerator combines frenetic lines and spattered paint to impart a strong sense of movement, an effect Feldschuh achieved by drawing the accelerator, turning the Mylar canvas over, and throwing paint onto it from a ladder. Feldschuh, who studied physics at Harvard before deciding to become a painter, said he wanted to mimic and mirror what happens in the collider through his creative process. The result is otherworldly, going beyond a simple rendering of a research instrument to convey the deep strangeness and chaotic energy ...
