Chemistry Co-sponsors Art Installation in Metcalf Plaza
The Departments of Chemistry and Physics are sponsoring the installation of an art piece, “The Evolution of Darwin,” by artist Esther Solondz.
Between November 2006 and April 2007, Solondz, who is on the faculty of the Rhode Island School of Design, is creating “rust portraits” of Charles Darwin and other evolutionary scientists on the concrete bench risers of Metcalf Plaza (590 Commonwealth Ave).
Solondz has been working for several years with a variety of ordinary materials such as salt, water, and rust to create her art. Combined, these materials change and grow in conformance to the conditions of a given piece. In the “Evolution of Darwin” installation, she renders the images using iron filings sandwiched between two pieces of cotton gauze and placed on concrete elements of outdoor spaces. On top of each image she puts a sculpture made of compressed salt bricks that are in various states of crystallization, growth, and dissolution. Over time the salt will dissolve and the filings will rust and leave an image. How long will the transformation take? That depends on the weather and how long it takes to break down the salt. Salt that covers the iron filings changes form, some of it building up and obscuring the images, some of it dissolving and vanishing.
Chemistry faculty member, John Straub, has worked as Solondz’s “chemistry consultant” to understand the chemistry of her process, a true art-science connection.
To view the website associated with the installation go to: http://www.bu.edu/darwin/