Greek Creation Myth - 10" x 9" watercolors, micron pen, gold pen, drawing gum, isopropyl alcohol, salt Processes used - watercolor, drawing gum and salt to create stars, isopropyl alcohol to create moon craters
Religion - 5" x 7" canvas, acrylic, white gel pen, gold leaf Processes used - acrylic painting mimicking Van Gogh’s Starry Night, applied gold leaf
The Heliocentric Theory - 17" x 12" watercolor, micron pen, gold pen Process used - watercolor painting
Behind the Telescope - 9" x 20" wood, acrylic, nails, string, gold pen Processes used - acrylic painting, string art to emphasize parabolic angles
Harnessing the Atom - 12" x 9" wood, acrylic, gold leaf, gold pen Processes used - acrylic painting mimicking Fauvism, applied gold leaf inspired by Rutherford’s gold foil experiment
Current Influence
One Giant Leap - 6" x 11" x 8" Converse sneakers, acrylic paint, paint finisher, gold pen Process used - acrylic painting on alternative canvas inspired by Andy Warhol & Pop Art
Black Holes: What We See vs. What We Know - 8" x 12" Prismacolor pencil, clear beads, gold leaf Processes used - colored w/ pencil, applied beads show black hole’s mass & gravity, applied gold leaf shows radiation
Influence as A CounterArgument
Superseded & Failed Theories - 11" x 11" gold and white pen, paper, tea bags, plexiglass, acrylic paint Processes used - drawing, acrylic painting, wearing paper by crumpling and dying with tea bags, plexiglass layering
Future Influence
Perspective from the Perseverance Rover - 20" x 16" canvas, acrylic, gold pen Process used - acrylic painting mimicking futuristic work of Chesley Bonestell
Solar Sailing - 7" x 5" denim, embroidery thread, needle Processes used - embroidery depicting a new interpretation of solar sailing, highlighting sun & stars w/ gold thread
My whole life has revolved around science. Studying the diversity of interactions between organisms and their environments has always fascinated me; typically, this involved animals interacting with their communities here on Earth. But I wanted to take it a step further — in this sustained investigation, I study the diversity of interactions humans have with the universe, the largest environment of all.
Looking further into this, I realized that the key part of our interaction with space and the universe has been centrally dependent on scientific discovery. In a coinciding manner, humans have reacted to such discoveries in various forms of art. Cave paintings created by early Homo sapiens, sketches found in the notebooks of famous astronomers, and even pop art inspired by the moon landing are all representations of the public’s reactions to various astronomical discoveries. I’ve incorporated references to different art movements that have been influenced by scientific discovery into my investigation, including pop art, Fauvism, and contemporary art.
Influenced by the forward-thinking work of Andy Warhol and Chesley Bonestell, I have been attempting to approach my pieces from a very positive and hopeful perspective. I have discovered that these artists focus on resilience, both in their personal lives and in their art. Andy Warhol was shot twice and thought dead, but somehow lived and continued to paint. Chesley Bonestell had many of his paintings destroyed by a fire, but remained determined in his abilities and became so popular he was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame and had an asteroid named after him. Sharing this mentality of tenacity and grit has grown to become a goal of mine with my sustained investigation— this can be seen in my piece “One Giant Leap,” the Apollo 11 scene painted on the pair of Chuck Taylors, inspired by Warhol’s vivacious pop art scene, and “Perspective from the Perseverance Rover,” my piece inspired by Bonestell’s futuristic work, focusing on NASA’s Mars rover launch in 2020.
Something I struggled with throughout this process was trying to portray this sense of hopefulness so beautifully expressed by Warhol and Bonestell while also avoiding appearing ignorant. When it comes to the world of science, it’s easy to get caught up in the successes without considering all of the superseded theories and ideas that came before. So, I’ve included a piece that explores the true nature of the scientific method, ranging from theories that have since been built on, like Rutherford’s atomic model, to those that are just wrong, like the flat-earth theory or spontaneous generation.
Beyond linking astronomical discoveries to the art movements they’ve influenced, my sustained investigation over the last few months has grown into focusing on the resilience of scientific discovery, space travel, and the art that represents it.