Artist and Scientist in collaboration - Cornelia Parker - Graphene project

Cornelia Parker

 

'Meteorite Misses Waco', Cornelia Parker

'Meteorite Misses Waco', Cornelia Parker

Cornelia Parker (born 1956)
'Meteorite Misses Waco, Texas'
2001
Printed atlas with scorched mark and burnt hole
Museum no. E.262-2005
Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund

This is from a series called 'Meteorite Lands in the Middle of Nowhere' for which the artist heated a tiny meteorite and scorched six selected place names in the USA on six maps. Some of her meteorites make direct hits, others are near misses, but all the place names have been chosen for their powerful associations.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31006334 see for full article

 

 

Ahead of her new Whitworth exhibition, Cornelia Parker worked closely with scientists at the University of Manchester, most notably Kostya Novoselov, who, with Andre Geim, was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of  graphene - the world’s thinnest and strongest material.

Working with gallery staff, Novoselov took microscopic samples of graphite from drawings in the Whitworth’s collection by William Blake, Turner, Constable and Picasso, as well as a pencil-written letter by Sir Ernest Rutherford (who split the atom in Manchester). He then made graphene from these samples, one of which Parker made into a work of art to mark the opening of the gallery and exhibition. A Blake-graphene sensor, activated by breath of a physicist, set off a firework display which returned iron meteorite into the Manchester sky. This meteor shower marked a spectacular and unmissable opening to the new Whitworth.

 

Cornelia Parker talking about the Blakean Abstract project for the opening of the Whitworth Gallery, Manchester, 2015.

 

 

 

 

Move on to 2'49" for discussion between Cornelia Parker and Kostya Novoselov about their collaboration on the Graphene project.  

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/smap/collection_index/cornelia_parker_artist_in_residence.aspx

Cornelia Parker - Artist in residence

• Another day spent
• September 1998 - March 1999

Cornelia Parker used her residency to investigate, select and transform our understanding of objects from the Science Museum's collections by making subtle additions to existing displays. Another day spent was a series of interventions in the form of objects, drawings, photographs, macrophotographs and photograms dispersed throughout the galleries and her interpretation of iconic objects made mischievous allusions to the formality and grandeur of the surrounding scientific works.

About the artist
British artist Cornelia Parker’s (born 1956) work is concerned with formalising things beyond our control, containing the volatile and making it into something that is quiet and contemplative like the 'eye of the storm'. Her work triggers cultural metaphors and personal associations which allow the viewer to witness the transformation of the most ordinary objects into something compelling and extraordinary.