Highlights: SAIC Stories

Shane Mecklenburger (MFA 2009), The End & the Beginning of Everything, 2012, cross-section of supernova simulation, in collaboration with Brad Gallagher

Eyes Wide Open

I was recently inspired by a quote I read in Albert Einstein’s essay, "The World As I See It." The great theoretical physicist says, "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it...his eyes are dimmed."

As a person trained as a physicist, who is now the president of an art and design school, I often think about connections between art and science. They both represent ways to understand, interpret, and communicate about the world. They both attract people who are motivated by curiosity, a passion for their work, and a creative instinct. And they both involve, as Einstein notes, the beauty of mystery.

Here, you will meet two SAIC alumni who bring together the areas of art, science, and technology and who are constantly opening their eyes to the mysterious. Eduardo Kac, who is an SAIC professor in Art and Technology Studies, explores the outer edges of the avant-garde through varying media such as digital art, performance, poetry, and “bio art.” Shane Mecklenburger collaborates with astrophysicists, cosmologists, and chemists to create work about weapons, systems of value, and the expanding universe.

And you will read about a new scholarship; this season's Distinguished Alumni Lecturer; and some students involved at a local veterans’ art museum. Not to mention our various exhibitions, lectures, screenings, conversations, and events.

As you read these stories and engage in our public programs, I encourage you to embrace the mysterious and make sure your eyes are not dimmed.

Walter E. Massey
President, School of the Art Institute of Chicago