Revisioning the (W)hole:  Among Poets, Philosophers and Physicists

 

Schedule of Events
 
 


 

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH

American Heritage Center, Wyoming Stock Growers’ Room

2:00 p.m.  Wendy E. Bredehoft/Susan B. Moldenhauer  From Spiral Jetty to Loft: The Evolution of Recent Alternative Art Exhibitions in Laramie

 

A fortuitous road trip to Idaho in 2005 made for extensive conversations about how we, as artists and arts administrators, could introduce our personal work to our community and, by extension, how we could facilitate elevating the visibility of other artists living and working in Laramie/Albany County.   Our presentation will discuss a series of projects beginning with the first exhibition at the Wyoming Territorial Prison, and how that, as an idea, has evolved into a series of student and professional artist exhibitions in downtown Laramie this year.  We will also discuss impact and goals to facilitate making Laramie a cultural destination.

 

3:00 p.m.  Mark Greene Revisioning the Archives:  It’s Not Just for History Anymore.

Come consider the American Heritage Center—the university’s manuscript repository, rare books library, and official archives—anew.  Its many and massive holdings already provide curricular support for disciplines as far-ranging as Nursing, Secondary Education, Agriculture, Art, English, Women’s Studies, Music, and Religion, as well as History.  Possibilities extend even further, to Law, Political Science, Business, Sociology, Theater and Dance, and more.  It is not simply that the breadth of collections can serve distinct disciplines, but also that single collections can provide insight for a variety of disciplines, thus promoting interdisciplinary discussion among poets, philosophers, and even physicists. 

 

4:00 p.m.  Margaret Haydon/Joe Riis  Soundings:  Aesthetic Interpretations of the Environment

This presentation will be given jointly by Margaret K. Haydon (art department) and Joe Riis (Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and Zoology department).  Margaret’s work is focused on iconic images of sturgeon and Joe has developed a body of photographs based on the Missouri River that highlight the environmental issues facing the river.  Margaret is an artist who is beginning to incorporate science and environmental issues with her work.  Joe is a conservation photographer incorporating visual art with scientific research.  They will each discuss this crossover from their individual perspectives as well as from the perspective of developing a collaborative effort that bridges their work.

5:00 p.m. Eric Moorhouse/Paul Hertz Mathematics and the Arts

What role has mathematics played in inspiring artistic creation?  Some examples, particularly from fine art and music theory, will be presented and discussed.  One of our themes is the challenge faced by a mathematician seeking to convey a pleasing mathematical notion (such as symmetry in objects of possibly higher dimension) using `real world’ media of one, two and three dimensions.  Like trying to summarize a grand revelation in 17-syllable haiku, the challenge is enormous but irresistible.

 

Fine Arts Concert Hall

7:00 p.m. Panel Discussion: Among Poets, Philosophers and Physicists

This panel, moderated by Dean Oliver Walter, will feature Mike Brotherton, Danny Dale and a student from Physics, Patricia Goodson from Chemistry, Ed Sherline, Franz-Peter Griesmaier, Jeff Lockwood and Kyla Sweeney, David Romtvedt and a student from English.

7:30 p.m. Evening Performance

Following the panel, performances celebrating collaboration in the arts will be presented.  Two music ensembles, which draw members from all across the University Community, The Wyoming Sikuris and Knotwork Celtic Ensemble will perform, and will be interspersed with readings by David Romtvedt (Poet Laureate for the state of Wyoming), students from the MFA program in Creative Writing, and student in the Advanced Modern Dance course in Theatre & Dance will present improvisational scores joined by musicians Peter Queal, John Cabot, Paul Sheridan-Rabideau and David Romtvedt.

8:30 p.m. Reception 

A reception hosted by the Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning will be held in the fine arts lobby following the performance.  On display in the lobby will be “Images from India” student art work inspired by travels and study in India during the summer of 2007 , scanning microscope images displayed by Dr. Carrick Eggelston, and a video installation by Neil Humphrey entitled “A day in camp”  -- time lapse photo essay of field work on the Bench Glacier in Alaska.

 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27TH

Room 3112 Engineering Building

2:00 p.m. Snehalata Huzurbazar, Jeff Lockwood, Nicole Korfanta, Susanna Goodin.  What Makes a Collaboration Work (Or Not...)
Collaborations don't just happen, but successful collaborations have elements of hard work, mutual interest, luck and matching of personalities and goals. A statistician who has had successes and failures in collaborative efforts, an entomologist who is now in the philosophy department, an interdisciplinary program leader attempting to work with students and faculty from the humanities and sciences in the same classroom, and a philosopher discuss their experiences. We will also try to discuss institutional barriers to collaborative efforts.

 

 

Agriculture Auditorium

3:00 p.m. Mike Brotherton:  Science and Science Fiction

Science is hard, cold, and inaccessible to some, even though to its practitioners it is compelling and satisfying.  Fiction can be a bridge that connects the wonder that scientists see to the general public, at least when done well.  Scientists, on their end, sometimes benefit from having the impact of their work on humanity pointed out.  I will discuss educational synergies between science and fiction and my own efforts involving writing novels, putting together anthologies, running workshops educating writers, and teaching astronomy classes.

4:00 p.m. Patricia J. S. Colberg, Anthony Guzzo, Michael Brotherton and Neil Humphrey: Scientist Is My Day Job …

A chemist, a glaciologist and an astronomer reflect on their 'other lives' -- as sculptor, as dancer and as science fiction author, respectively.  The panel will feature Anthony Guzzo, Chemistry, Michael Brotherton, Physics and Astonomy, and Neil Humphrey, Geology and Geophysics.

 

5:00 p.m. Sarah Strauss, Cecilia Aragon, and Mark Clements: The Prince of Whales: Collaboration of an Artist and Scientist in the development of a children’s theatre performance.

 

This presentation will highlight the collaboration between two colleagues focused on narrating the evolution of whales.  As a part of this presentation, an excerpt from the children’s performance will be offered using children in the community.