|
 |
Nanette Shaw
A closer look at art can reveal science at work, just as science can show us new ways to look at art. This fall, The CUNY Graduate Center will present a series of insightful and entertaining explorations of the interplay between science and art in three disciplines: Dance, Visual Art, and Theater. The programs will all be held in the Elebash Recital Hall at The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street. Admission is $35 for the series, $15 for each program, or free to students. The series also has a website at http://web.gc.cuny.edu/ashp/nml/artsci/. Science and Dance: The Physics of Ballet Monday, October 1, 2001; 6-7:30pm, $15 or free to students Much of science is invisible, mathematical, and abstract. But a dancer's movements bring to life concepts of physics that are easily understood and deepen one's appreciation of the art form. In this presentation, a professional ballet dancer will demonstrate some analyzable movements including illusions in which physical laws appear to be violated. How can a dancer leap into the air and then start turning, or appear to float horizontally in a leap? How does a toppling dancer regain balance if the only source of force is the floor? Aspects of the art of dance will be illuminated by straightforward applications of the science of physics. Presented by Kenneth Laws, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Dickinson College --- classical ballet student, adjunct teacher, occasional performer, former President of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and author, The Physics of Dance and Physics and the Art of Dance: Understanding Movement (Oxford, 2002). Science and the Art of Fractals: Appealing to the Senses of Sight and Sound Monday, November 5, 2001; 6-7:30pm, $15 or free to students The natural world has long been an inspiration and model of beauty to artists, writers, and musicians. Mathematics and science, on the other hand, can sometimes be viewed as cold, dry, and uninteresting. In the mathematics of fractal geometry and the science of chaos, however, we now have a rich new language for capturing, illuminating, and simulating nature. This lecture will illustrate the deceptively simple and creative power of fractals and chaos through computer-generated images, animation, sounds, and music. Examples of practical applications of fractals to economics, the genetic code, early Chinese landscape paintings, and the reading of x-rays will be presented. How mountains and clouds are made from mathematics in Hollywood films and how music is generated from the stock market will both be demonstrated. Presented by Richard F. Voss --- Center for Complex Systems and Brain Science, Departments of Physics and Mathematical Sciences, Florida Atlantic University; an Internationally recognized computational physicist and popular lecturer on fractals. Science and Theater: Fermat's Last Theorem, The Musical Monday, December 3, 2001; 6-7:30pm, $15 or free to students Mathematics takes to the stage with excerpts from the very successful, highly acclaimed, recent off-Broadway production of Fermat's Last Tango. This comical musical was inspired by the story of Princeton professor Andrew Wiles's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem (also the subject of the PBS film The Proof and Simon Singh's book, Fermat's Enigma). Fermat's Last Tango tells the story of Professor Daniel Keane, who discovers a proof which the great mathematician Fermat couldn't possibly have developed 350 years ago, finds a flaw in the proof, and then fixes it under the watchful eye of Fermat and other great mathematicians. Presenters: Joanne Sydney Lessner (book and lyrics) --- playwright (Chess Set, Critical Mass, Crossing Lines), novelist and actor. Joshua Rosenblum (music and lyrics) --- composer (The Joy of Going Somewhere), pianist, conductor, and writer. Jonathan Rabb (Fermat) --- actor and author, The Overseer and Book of Q. Chris Thompson (Professor Keane) --- actor and singer (Kiss Me, Kate; The Merry Widow; The Marriage of Figaro). Established in 1961, The Graduate Center has grown to an enrollment of about 3,300 students in 32 doctoral programs and seven master's degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. The Graduate Center also houses 30 research centers and institutes and administers the CUNY Baccalaureate Program. According to a recent National Research Council report, more than a third of The Graduate Center's rated programs rank among the nation's top 20 at public and private institutions, nearly a quarter are among the top ten when compared to publicly supported institutions alone, and more than half are among the top five programs at publicly supported institutions in the northeast. Further information on The Graduate Center's programs and activities can be found on its Web site at: www.gc.cuny.edu. |