Vision of the Arts at the Exploratorium
Staff and visiting artists are central to the museum’s work, collaborating with scientists and educators to develop original exhibits, performances, public programs, film, and media projects. The museum’s art and science purview includes natural phenomena explored in the physical and life sciences as well as human perception and cognition.
As the Exploratorium has evolved to become a major center for research on learning, the arts programs have become increasingly more interdisciplinary, providing artists with opportunities to collaborate with scientists and skilled makers, and to undertake deeper investigations into the social dimensions of art, science, and culture.
The Artist-in-Residence Program
From its earliest days, the Exploratorium has attracted a variety of artists who are interested in collaborating with us. In the early 1970s, Bob Miller was one of them. Exploratorium founder Frank Oppenheimer was delighted by Bob’s experiments with light and shadow, one of which eventually became Sun Painting, the first artwork commissioned by the Exploratorium. Sun Painting breaks sunlight into its component colors and uses mirrors to mix them, accomplishing the difficult task of being both a model science exhibit and a consummate work of art. Bob became the Exploratorium’s first artist-in-residence (and eventually served a stint as the museum’s associate director).
Since then, the Artist-in-Residence Program has grown to include hundreds of artists, musicians, poets, and filmmakers. Traditionally, we work with artists who are drawn to collaboration, are interested in interdisciplinary dialogue, and are open to engaging in new working methods. Their art forms and media are diverse, ranging from multimedia performances and theatrical productions to animated filmmaking, dance productions, and performances that explore cultural connections.
The influence of our AIR Program on arts in the Bay Area and beyond has been substantial, and has propelled several artists forward in their work. For example, in 1979 Ward Fleming was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant as an artist-in-residence and began creating pin screens, an investigation he successfully continues today. Chico MacMurtrie’s residency introduced him to pneumatics, a fairly simple technology that led him into significantly new directions. MacMurtrie went on to form Amorphic Robot Works, a group of artists and engineers working together to create robotic art performances and installations. And Ned Kahn came to the Exploratorium as a volunteer, became enamored with natural phenomena, and made environmental art and sculpture his life’s work; he won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2003.
As we plan a move to our new home at the piers in San Francisco, we’re taking time to think deeply about how to best incorporate artists-in-residence into new and existing programs and projects. We’ll post more information as details develop.
