Blended Worlds: Experiments in Interplanetary Imagination
On view: Sep. 21, 2024 to Jan. 4, 2025
Public opening: September 21, 7pm
A PST ART exhibition in collaboration with Jet Propulsion Lab and the City of Glendale, presented at Brand Library & Art Center, Glendale
ABOUT BLENDED WORLDS
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) – an operating division of Caltech and a Federally Funded Research and Development Center for NASA – and the City of Glendale’s Library, Arts & Culture Department are pleased to present a new exhibition titled Blended Worlds: Experiments in Interplanetary Imagination, at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale.
Through a series of art and science collaborations, Blended Worlds: Experiments In Interplanetary Imagination explores the landscape of human relationships with our ever-expanding environment. The exhibition includes artists collaborating with a team of JPL scientists and engineers to present a vision of the future that invites the viewer to consider the impact of greater connectedness with nature and its ability to foster a renewed sense of wonder and curiosity with our planet and the cosmos. Spanning a range of multimedia and cross-disciplinary works from 11 artists, Blended Worlds features contributions from David Bowen, Darel Carey, Ekene Ijeoma, Annette Lee, Ada Limón, Bruce Mau, Viktoria Modesta, Shane Myrbeck, Moon Ribas, Raffi Joe Wartanian and Saskia Wilson-Brown.
Blended Worlds is presented as part of Getty’s regional art event PST ART: Art & Science Collide which explores the intersections of art and science — past, present and in the imaginable future.
Opening reception: Saturday, September 21 from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
For more information, visit: BrandLibrary.org/Gallery
ABOUT SENSORY MEMENTOS + INTERSTELLAR SOUNDINGS
In two interconnected, collaborative experiences, Shane Myrbeck and Saskia Wilson-Brown invite visitors into a future where humans journey into space in search of a new home. Sensory Mementos + Interstellar Soundings presents two experiences that focus on the senses: smell, and sound.
Can we recreate the smells of a lost home when only stories and data remain?
Sensory Mementos imagines a future in which humans seek to reestablish a connection by recreating what is now, for them, only a generational memory. Their experiment recreates lost olfactory landscapes, preserved through narratives and molecular signatures, to evoke memories of their life on Earth and journey outward into the stars. These reconstructed scentscapes prompt us to reflect on loss, meaning, and the unreliability of memory.
Can sound help us feel the proximity of exoplanets?
Interstellar Soundings uses sound to convey the vast distances of exoplanets in our galaxy. An algorithm selects exoplanets from the NASA Exoplanet Archive in groups of 16, playing artistically composed sounds for each planet, with delays based on their distance from Earth. Shorter delays indicate closer planets, while longer delays signify those farther away.
Lead Investigators
Artist: Shane Myrbeck
Artist: Saskia Wilson-Brown
Collaborators
Astrophysicist: Anjali Tripathi, JPL
Fabricators
Mount Maker: Kamil Beski, Beski Projects
Fabricator: McNICHOLS
Fabricator: Los Angeles Glassblowing
Advisors
Planetary Scientist: Julie Castillo-Rogez, JPL
Astrobiologist & Planetary Scientist: Kevin Hand, JPL
Chief Scientist of the Interplanetary Network Directorate: Joseph Lazio, JPL
Program Manager for Planetary Science Research & Analysis: Karl Mitchell, JPL
Scientist, Planetary Ices Group: Michael J. Malaska, JPL
Program Manager, Exoplanet Exploration Program: Gary Blackwood, JPL
Chief Technologist, Exoplanet Program: Nick Siegler, JPL
External Advisors
Emily Shisko
Micah Hahn
Special Thanks
Carrie Paterson
SCENTS
A blade of grass
(E)-2-hexenal, cis-3-hexenol, hexenyl acetate, et al.
Smell: grass
Seaside in the fog
phenolic terpenoids, trans-phenyl-3-propenoic acids, et al.
smell: seaweed, salty breeze
Pumping gas
benzene, orthobenzyne, toluene, xylene, parabenzyne, et al.
Smell: gasoline
Campfire Stories
guaiacol, syringol, isoeugenol, 4-methylguaiacol, et al.
Smell: burning wood, smoke
Winter Forest
bornyl acetate, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, limonene, et al.
Smell: pine trees resins, undergrowth
A Dozen Roses
citronellol, geraniol, phenethyl alcohol, rose oxide, et al.
Smell: roses
G+T on a Saturday Night
limonene, alpha-pinene, linalool,1,4-terpineol, quinine, et al.
Smell: Fizzy gin
Pancake Breakfast
2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, isomaltol, quebecol, vanillin, et al.
Smell: maple syrup, pancakes
Horse Stable
4-ethylphenol, 4-ethylguaiacol, 3-methylnonane-2,4-dione, et al.
Smell: horse sweat, leather
City after the rain
geosmin, palmitic acid, stearic acid, et al.
Smell: petrichor, plant bits
Proust’s Madeleine
Maltol, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline,vsnillin, limonene, et al.
Smell: sweet lemony bread
Incense in the Temple
phenol, benzyl benzoate, furanoeudesma-1,3-diene, et al
Smell: resins, slightly burnt, and temple dust
Mushroom Hunting
1-octen-3-ol, 3-octanol, 2-pentyl-furan, 5,6-Dihydro-2-pyranone, et al.
Smell: mushrooms and earth
tomato on the vine
hexenyl butyrate, cis-3-hexenal, hexanal, 3-methylbutanal, et al.
Smell: green tomato leaf
A Summer Hike
1-Alpha phellandrene, delta-3-carene, myrcene, et al.
Smell: dry grasses, fennel
Jasmine at Night
benzyl acetate, linalool, indole, methyl anthranilate, et al.
Smell: Jasmine
A Technosignature
carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide,naphthalene, benzo(a)pyrene, et al.
Smell: air pollution
Clean spaceship
hypochlorite, d-limonene, a-pinene, isoprene, et al.
Smell: sterile, metallic, machines, with cleaning fluid
First stop: the Moon
lunar regolith, et al.
Smell: gunpowder
With Kevin Hand
Rock garden on Mars
sulfides, methane, iron oxide, carbon dioxide, hematite et al.
smell: rusty metal, sulfur, cooked rocks
Lightning on Saturn
methane, ammonia, helium, hydrogen, acetylene, et al.
smell: acetylene, ammonia
With Joseph Lazio
Enceladus Geyser
methane, phenyls, ammonia, sodium, carbon dioxide, et al.
Smell: salty geyser
With Julie Castillo-Rogez
Pit Stop on Titan
ethylene, propyne, benzene, hydrogen cyanide, methane, at al.
Smell: greasy-sweet, musky, almondy, gasoline-like odor, mothball, putrid fish
With Karl Mitchell, Michael J. Malaska
The (Interstellar) Cloud
benzene, ammonia, sulfur, polycyclic hydrocarbons, et al.
Smell: ammonia, space dust, benzene
With Joseph Lazio
