The Art of Science: Sculpture with Deep Roots

Dalya Luttwak, Cannabis Sativa, Steel, 2014

Dalya Luttwak, Cannabis Sativa, Steel, 2014

Artist Dalya Luttwak takes hard steel and transforms it into the sinuous shapes of roots.  For a recent show at the Greater Reston Art Center in Virginia, Luttwak chose as one of her subjects the root system of Cannabis Sativa.  Cannabis, a plant of many uses, which evokes strong and complex responses and touches on so many areas of our culture – industrial, medical, recreational, and criminal – is an irresistible subject for art.

Working in a combination of gilded and blackened steel, the artist “sought the “golden balance” arising from the combination of vertical and horizontal black roots, and existing between the different elements of the Cannabis plant and their nutritious, medical, and psychedelic uses.”

Luttwak, who was born in Israel and now works in the US, says that her work tries to “uncover the hidden beauty of roots, exploring the relationship between what grows above the ground and the invisible parts below of various root systems. My sculptures reveal what nature prefers to conceal. My wish is to uncover and discover roots even when they are hidden, indeed especially when they are hidden.” (source)

Beyond the secrets of plant life, however, this sculpture, and many of Luttwak’s other works, strongly evoke the brain and nervous system. Seeing the roots of the Cannabis Sativa as a metaphor for the paths of chemical stimulation or even of our tangled attitudes to drug-taking, elevate and deepen our response to this deceptively simple art.

You can see more of Dalya Luttwak’s work on her website.


Filed under: The Art of Science Tagged: cannabis, sciart, Sculpture

The Art of Science: Mike Tyka Folds Proteins in Copper

Michael Tyka, KcsA Potassium Channel, Copper and Steel, 2011

Michael Tyka, KcsA Potassium Channel, Copper and Steel, 2011

Mike Tyka is not the first scientist to see artistic potential through his microscope, but he’s taken his love for the structure of protein molecules much farther than most – not only learning metalworking to make beautiful copper sculptures, but creating a studio/makerspace to do it in.

Tyka earned a PhD in Biophysics in 2007 and went  to work as a research fellow studying the structure and dynamics of protein molecules.  His particular area of interest is protein folding, and he has written computer simulation software to better understand the process.  Tyka says that “protein folding is the way our genetic code is interpreted from an abstract sequence of data into the functional enzymes and nano machines that drive our bodies.”

Tyka got interested in sculpture in 2009 when he helped design and construct Groovik’s Cube, a 35ft tall, functional, multi-player Rubik’s cube.  The cube will soon be on view at New Jersey’s Liberty Science Center as part of its Beyond Rubik’s Cube Exhibit.

Although the Groovik’s Cube project gave him his first taste of art-making, building a giant welded steel cube hardly prepared him to make exquisite replicas of complex biological forms.  So he took to the internet. “I learned almost everything I needed from youtube and from jeweler friends. I didn’t have a space to work so I got together with some friend and founded an artspace (Seattle’s ALTSpace) and acquired or built all the tools I needed.”

Tyka was obviously very familiar with the protein forms and knew how he wanted them to look. He chose to work in copper, a warm, soft metal, because he wanted the sculptures “to look smooth, soft, liquid. Proteins are not solid objects, they’re more like jelly, they move and vibrate. I wanted to reflect that property somehow.”

You can see Mike Tyka’s work at the Hutchinson Cancer Institute in Seattle and at Science House in New York, and see lots more photos on his website. You can follow him on twitter @mtyka


Filed under: The Art of Science Tagged: copper, Mike Tyka, protein, science art, Sculpture

The Art of Science: Courage Unmasked

Courage Unmasked, an art exhibit at the Katzen Art Center in Washington, DC, consists of 59 sculptures incorporating radiation masks previously worn by head and neck cancer patients.  Each radiation mask, made of plastic mesh, is heated and fitted individually to the patient prior to treatment so the head and neck can remain perfectly still, allowing the radiation to be precisely directed and avoid damage to healthy tissue.  Not surprisingly, many patients who have used these masks never want to see them again. “Some people run over them with cars,” noted artist Jessica Beels, one of the organizers of the exhibit.  But some donated theirs to be turned into works of art, which in turn will be auctioned off to support other cancer patients.

The original idea for Courage Unmasked came from Cookie Kerxton, an artist who was diagnosed with cancer of the vocal cords in 2008. She asked the radiation technicians what people did with the masks when they were finished with treatment. Told that most people either discard or destroy them, she decided to gather some unwanted masks and ask her artist friends to decorate them. Many artists joined in, and in 2009, the first Courage Unmasked art auction raised over $100,000 for Kerxton’s fund, 911 4 HNC (Help for Head and Neck Cancer). The money does not go to research but directly to individual patients who are struggling to make ends meet.

The sculptures in Courage Unmasked range from very simple to highly ornate.  Lorrie Fredette, in her piece Loud & Clear (shown above), boldly cut up and reconfigured the mask. She explains:  “Most of us use our voices as our primary form of expression. Loud & Clear, influenced by normal larynx tissue, is its metaphor. The sculptural arrangements of elements are an interpretation of the piling up, the proliferation of healthy cells. The three primary materials used dovetail with the intention of the work. The plaster bandage, a material known for fixing broken bones, sets the mended cells. The thermal plastic mask is transformed into a multitude of healthy cells. Beeswax historically has been used to preserve tissue samples, and for this piece is preserving the renewed well-being.”

By contrast, Breath, by Beverly Ress, left the mask much more intact, but with subtle changes suggested a both a sense of transformation and the devotional aura of an icon.  In her words: “I began by pulling the frame of the mask forward into a kind of Renaissance wimple. I cut open the mouth and began to imagine breath—the primal force of life. I attached an intaglio print of a butterfly that I had made several years ago. It is a reminder of breath and lends a skin-like translucency to the piece.”

All of the sculptures can be seen here.  More information about the event is here.