Event 1: Hammer Museum, Provocations

My first experience with Provocations happened before I got to the exhibit. Outside the museum store there were about six plastic circular, rotating chairs.  Naturally, I had to give this a try so I sat down and began spinning in circles in what ended up being a very comfortable (and extremely fun) chair.

Me testing out the Spun Chair

After a few minutes of spinning and trying to understand how the chair did not fall over, I walked over to Provocations (more on the chair later). I was first met by a brief explanation of the exhibit. 

Displayed on the wall outside the exhibit

From this, I learned a bit about Heatherwick Studio and the incredible work that takes place there. Ultimately, Heatherwick Studio is a London based group that creates architecture and inventions on both a large and small scale. What I found fascinating about this was the real purpose of every piece I saw. The exhibit was set up in a way that allowed the viewer to look at either an actual model of their work, or a scaled-down version (in the case of bridges and buildings). Next to each item was a small description of the work, titled with a question.  Each question seemed to have been thoroughly discussed by a team of architects, artists and engineers to either solve a problem or push their abilities to the absolute limit. 

For example, there was a description titled, "Can a building help change the way we learn?"

Description of the "Learning Hub" 

The description explained that the team created a building where the shape of each room promoted connections and collaboration between people. The rounded shape of the rooms physically influenced what went on inside. I was immediately amazed and intrigued at this idea, that physical space has such a great influence on how people interact within that space. 

Small model of the "Learning Hub"

Photograph of the "Learning Hub"

This reminded me of the "Changing Educational Paradigms"video we watched the first week of class. In the video, Sir Ken Robinson discussed the lack of divergent thinking in children once they have gone through formal schooling, which he attributed to children being taught that there is only one answer to any given question. He talked about how collaboration is often discouraged, and if discussion among peers happens it may be considered cheating. This directly relates to the Learning Hub designed by Heatherwick Studio, as each room is meant to encourage collaboration, and therefore possible encourage divergent thinking. 

Now, back to the chairs! After viewing a few other pieces, I stumbled upon the "Spun Chair" (that happened to be the chair I mentioned previously). The question attempting to be answered here was, "Can a rotationally symmetrical form make a comfortable chair?" I for one can answer yes to this question!

Spun Chair

I absolutely encourage anyone taking this class to check out Provocations! It was the perfect example of the practical applications of combining the fields of art and science. While I only mentioned a few aspects of what I saw at the exhibit, every single piece there had real, practical applications which made it very relatable and interesting. Scientific and artistic backgrounds were without a doubt instrumental in creating each piece. It was incredible to see this Third Culture of art and science truly come together! It is one thing to read about it, but it is entirely different to witness what exactly the combination of art and science has to offer. 

Me outside the exhibit