fostering the creation of interactive
installations, educational tools, apps,
websites, and performances, OpenLab
serves as a hub for collaboration. In
speaking on how OpenLab functions,
Parker wrote,
“I like to compare the process of
working in OpenLab to that of filmmaking. In films you work toward one
outcome with a large number of people
who have been given individual tasks:
writers, actors, wardrobe designers,
set-designers, sound engineers, lighting experts, camera person, editors, a
director and producer. In OpenLab we
work the same way—we give ourselves
tasks and work toward one research
agenda… we have computer programmers, fabricators, animators, mechanical and electrical engineers, education
experts, writers, and scientists from
all disciplines, a creative director and
producer. My role as the Director
of OpenLab is to oversee and direct
projects, keep things moving and on
point, find funding, and get the work
off campus to engage with the general
public.”
Echoing the underlying goal of her
own art work, Parker hopes that OpenLab can help expand the boundaries of
experience for both participants and
viewers. Pushing artists to reconnect
with the long-lost sibling of science,
and pushing scientists to utilize this
revitalized connection for the greater
good of scientific outreach, OpenLab
is among a growing number of initiatives reconnecting science and art.
Read more on Parker’s work here:
http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/jparker/
Eve was still a monkey
(2001). Performance
and digital C-print.
Images courtesy of the
artist.
Jennifer Parker is a member of SciArt Center, an organization dedicated to bringing scientists and artists together
for a common cause. To learn more about SciArt Center and their membership, visit www.sciartcenter.org.
SciArt in America February 2015
17