Where Science Meets Art
Meetings between science and art, an exchange of ideas between scientists and artists
Curator: Yivsam Azgad
Contemporary conceptual art, much like the art of science, sprouts from an inner seed, within the awareness of the artist or scientist. Each must then undergo a rigorous process of refinement, isolation and experimentation. Each of these worlds is based on a central tenet of precision and consistency. In this, the ideologies and roots of the two appear not only to approach each other, but to abut in many places.
At the Weizmann Institute of Science, art is seen to be a complementary activity, so that scientists and artists can, together, observe the world from a higher vantage point in a more critical and precise way. In other words, the synergy that occurs when science and art are brought together – when the two world views meet – can lead to more significant achievements in the enduring quest to understand the world and our place in it.
Based on this concept, art exhibits have been displayed in various work spaces in the Weizmann Institute of Science in recent years – primarily showings of contemporary Israeli art.
David Gerstein
"Drawings"
Raoul and Graziella de Picciotto Building for Scientific and Technical Support, 4th floor
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An aspiration to ‘converse’ with both the art world and the general public is apparent in David Gerstein’s work. His focus on figurative art enables him to share with us his insights into everyday life, here and now. An attempt to ‘imitate,’ or perhaps even compete with nature, drives his bold use...
Marina Santoro
"The Legend of Tomorrow"
Stone Administration Building, Entrance floor
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Is the world an orderly place? Most of us hope the answer to this seemingly simple question is positive. If the world is an orderly place, we can look at the picture of the present and guess, or estimate, what the future holds. Thus, when we recognize order (such as in symmetry, or even in broken...
Yuliana Gorkorov
"Letter Shape"
The David Lopatie International Conference Center, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot
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Anyone who writes, or edits, or reads, from any ethnic group, nation, country, culture, gender, age, complexion, or worldview; everyone, no matter their background, should marvel at the phenomenon: Unknown markings drawn on paper, engraved in stone, carved on wood, stamped in clay, or traced in...
Rickey Benjamin
"Simple fractions"
Raoul and Graziella de Picciotto Building for Scientific and Technical Support, 3rd floor
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Ambitious scientists who sought to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying evolution sparked M.C. Escher’s interest and imagination. The contemporary zeitgeist – a spirit of constant change and innovation – led him to develop a new branch of research, which can be dubbed “evolutionary...
Galya Lutzky
"Through the Looking-Glass"
Dr. Karl and Leila Ribstein Center for Information Technology
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Geometric structures and the “relationships” among them, as well as with other bodies, are a topic of fascination for Galya Lutzky, an alumna of the Moscow State Pedagogical University in mathematics. Simultaneously, she is also exploring how the interplay between ordered patterns can reveal the...
Alon Weingarten
"Iron sculptures"
Raoul and Graziella de Picciotto Building for Scientific and Technical Support, Entrance lobby
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The Iron Age began some 3,200 years ago, probably in the area of modern-day Turkey. At the time, iron was used mainly for the production and design of various tools, such as spearheads, axes, and others. The ability to shape the metal as desired was made possible by the use of furnaces that smelted...
Michael Slatkine
"E-Pencil"
Feinberg Graduate School
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Landscape painting on the Weizmann Institute campus, using a smartphone screen.
Intuition is Michael Slatkine’s first tool. His smartphone – which he terms “my studio” – merely provides the technology and space for the creative act to take place. He views the smartphone screen’s small dimensions as...
Shalom Flash
"Views"
Raoul and Graziella de Picciotto Building for Scientific and Technical Support, 1st floor
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Shalom Flash focuses on landscape and urban landscape paintings, a movement that emerged in the 17th century in the Netherlands, and in the 18th and 19th centuries in other European countries.
There are two types of landscape paintings: Panoramic, which present a comprehensive and sweeping view of...
Daniel Khaykelson
"Cement (Photography, film)"
The Koffler Accelerator, 7th floor
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The Koffler Accelerator was designed by architect Moshe Harel in 1975, and has since become an architectural emblem of the Weizmann Institute of Science. The unique structure consists of two towers: A 57-meter high corkscrew-shaped tower, and a 53-meter-high tower topped by an egg-shaped structure...
Paintings by girls and boys
"Women scientists"
Stone building, ground floor
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Exhibited at the complex of the Office for the advancement of women in science and gender equality
Joshua Griffit
"Bearing Souvenirs #2"
The Max and Lillian Candiotty Building, 1st, 3rd floor
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Joshua Griffith is on the move. So claimed Gideon Ofrat in the 1990s. According to Ofrat, in those years Griffit – through his paintings – traveled in cars, trams, ships, carriages, motorcycles, airplanes, horses, sail and motor boats, gondolas, and anything that could take him away from here, in a...
Alexander Katan-Schmid, Gadi Dagon
"Body image"
The Max and Lillian Candiotty Building, 2nd floor
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In the world of photography, there is one boundary – one that is generally thought to be impassable. That boundary is the camera itself, which separates those standing in front of the lens and those who seek protection behind it. The ability to be simultaneously on both sides of the boundary is...
Orit Bechar and Yossi Shohat
"Photographed at the Weizmann Institute of Science"
Raoul and Graziella de Picciotto Building for Scientific and Technical Support, 2nd floor
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Hundreds, even thousands of people enter the Weizmann Institute of Science every single day. All are well aware of the importance of aesthetics and beauty to Institute life. The meticulous landscaping, the saplings alongside mature trees, the diverse flora, and painstaking cultivation – all these...
Joshua Griffit
"Bearing Souvenirs"
Stone Administration Building, first floor
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Joshua Griffit is on the move. So claimed Gideon Ofrat in the 1990s. According to Ofrat, in those years Griffit – through his paintings – traveled in cars, trams, ships, carriages, motorcycles, airplanes, horses, sail and motor boats, gondolas, and anything that could take him away from here, in a...
Map
"Mapping in Science and Art"
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
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You are Here
In one of the more memorable scenes in The King and I, Anna (played by Deborah Kerr in the movie), points to Siam on a map of the world. The king’s many children raise a hue and cry: The Siam they know is a large, glorious and populous country. It is not, as the songwriter Meir...
Or Raviv
"Update"
Stone Administration Building, Third floor
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In 1801, William Turner (1775-1851) was stopped by guards at the entrance to the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The guards had instructions to check the pockets of the young artist, who was already an Academy member and whose paintings were hung in the exhibit inside. It seems that during the...