Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Present "Blended Worlds: Experiments in Interplanetary Imagination" at the Brand Library & Art Center

Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and Jet Propulsion Laboratory Present "Blended Worlds: Experiments in Interplanetary Imagination" at the Brand Library & Art Center

PR Newswire

GLENDALE, Calif., June 26, 2024

Part of Getty's Regional Art Event PST ART: Art & Science Collide

September 21, 2024 – January 4, 2025  

GLENDALE, Calif., June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Glendale's Library, Arts & Culture Department, in collaboration with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), an operating division of Caltech and a Federally Funded Research and Development Center for NASA, have announced a new exhibition titled "Blended Worlds: Experiments in Interplanetary Imagination," on view at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale from September 21, 2024 to January 4, 2025. "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.

"Glendale is a vibrant and evolving arts destination, committed to finding opportunities to present thought-provoking and innovative programs that serve our broad audiences," said the City's Principal Arts & Culture Administrator Jennifer Fukutomi-Jones. "We're thrilled to collaborate with JPL to present an exhibition of this scale that contributes to the greater PST ART initiative in a meaningful way, examining urgent topics and asking big questions about the confluence of art and science."

"Blended Worlds" explores the landscape of human relationships with our ever-expanding environment. Through a series of art and science collaborations, the exhibition questions how empathy and connectedness can both reveal new worlds and inspire innovative ways to nurture them. "Blended Worlds" 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 renowned contemporary artist Larry Bell and cyborg artist Moon Ribas in addition to David Bowen, Darel Carey, Annette Lee, Ada Limón, Bruce Mau, Viktoria Modesta, Shane Myrbeck, Raffi Joe Wartanian and Saskia Wilson-Brown.

"As a hub of innovation in Southern California, we are thrilled with this collaboration, which merges the worlds of art and science," said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL. "This is a unique opportunity to share the awe-inspiring beauty of space exploration, contemplate profound questions about our vast cosmos, and highlight the creativity at the heart of JPL. Together, we hope to inspire curiosity within our local community and foster a deeper appreciation for both scientific discovery and artistic expression."

Exhibition highlights include Larry Bell's sculpture titled Time Machine and a drum solo performance piece by Moon Ribas titled Seismic Percussion. Bell, a central figure in the California Light and Space movement of the 1960s, is known foremost for his refined surface treatment of glass exploring the interplay between light, reflection and shadow. His experimentation with the deposition of thin films on glass surfaces requires technologies similar to those used by JPL in the development of robotic space missions. Bell's sculpture Time Machine invites two visitors to sit on either side of a barium glass mirror that is both reflective and transparent. When seated, the visitors experience a visual merging with one another, inviting visual play as well as reflections on individuality, mutuality, identity and presence.

In Seismic Percussion, Ribas translates the Earth's seismic activity into a drum score, creating a data-driven performance from the seismic activity of our planet. For "Blended Worlds," Ribas extends her focus to include quake activity on Mars, using data collected by NASA's Mars InSight lander, which studied the interior of Mars through seismic investigations from 2018 to 2022. Seismic Percussion transposes this multi-planetary seismic activity into a musical performance that condenses time, enabling audiences to connect with the natural rhythms of both Earth and Mars.

Additional highlights of the exhibition include David Bowen's Tele-present Wind. This installation features 126 x/y tilting mechanical devices connected to thin grass stalks that move in response to Martian wind data collected by NASA rover and lander missions managed for NASA by JPL. In the gallery space, the stalks move in synchrony with the Martian wind, temporarily uniting Earth and Mars through the dynamic interaction of wind and motion.

As part of PST ART, a number of public programs and community events will also accompany the "Blended Worlds" gallery exhibition including Blended Worlds: An Evening of Art, Theater and Science hosted by Reggie Watts at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on October 5, 2024; Earth Data: The Musical, an original musical developed by Caltech Theater Arts exploring the challenges of climate research and science as a human pursuit at Caltech's Ramo Auditorium on November 1-3, 2024 and PST ART: Art + Science Family Festival, created with Edinburgh Science Festival, on November 9-11, 2024 among others. More information on events to be announced soon.

Southern California's landmark arts event, PST ART, returns in September 2024, presenting more than 60 exhibitions from organizations across the Southern California region exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, visit: pst.art

JPL acknowledges the generous support of the Glendale Arts & Culture Commission and the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Trust.

Brand Library & Art Center
1601 West Mountain Street
Glendale, CA 91201

Hours
Tuesday-Thursday: 11:00AM-8:00PM
Friday-Saturday: 10:00AM-5:00PM
Closed Sunday-Monday and holidays

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About Glendale  
Known as the "Jewel City," Glendale is the fourth largest city of Los Angeles County. With a population of more than 200,000, Glendale is a thriving cosmopolitan city that is rich in history, culturally diverse, and offers nearly 50 public parks, and easy access to a municipal airport. It is the home to a vibrant business community, with major companies in healthcare, entertainment, manufacturing, retail, and banking.  

About Glendale Library, Arts & Culture  
Founded in 1907, the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Department includes eight neighborhood libraries including the Brand Library & Art Center, a regional visual arts and music library and performance venue housed in the historic 1904 mansion of Glendale pioneer Leslie C. Brand, and the Central Library, a 93,000 square foot center for individuals and groups to convene, collaborate and create. The department also serves as the chief liaison to the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission which works to continually transform Glendale into an ever-evolving arts destination. Glendale Library Arts & Culture is supported in part through the efforts of the Glendale Library Arts & Culture Trust (GLACT). For more information visit GlendaleLAC.org, or contact Library, Arts & Culture at 818-548-2021 or via email at LibraryInfo@GlendaleCA.gov. Follow on Instagram, Facebook and X at @MyGlendaleLAC.

About Brand Library & Art Center  
Brand Library & Art Center has been a cornerstone for the arts in Southern California since 1956. This unique public library focuses on visual arts and music and provides free services and programs for a diverse community, including print and online collections, subject specialist librarians, exhibitions, concerts, lectures, dance performances, films, and hands-on craft programs for children and adults. Brand Library seeks to develop innovative programs, services and collections to serve an ever-widening public interested in the arts. Brand Library & Art Center is a branch of the City of Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Department. For more information visit BrandLibrary.org or contact 818-548-2051. Follow on Instagram, Facebook and X @BrandLibary.

About The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL began in 1936 and ultimately built and helped launch America's first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. By the end of that year, Congress established NASA and JPL became a part of the agency. Since then, JPL has managed such historic missions as Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, the Mars Exploration Rover program, the Perseverance Mars rover, and many more.

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SOURCE The City of Glendale's Library, Arts & Culture Department