“Air is the only matter we inhabit”. This quote, reported by architectural historian Cyrille Simonnet in Brève histoire de l’air, is attributed to Yves Klein. Do we often think of “inhabiting matter”? Not really! Yet we live in the air, that omnipresent material in our daily lives that we neither see nor feel.
Category Archives: Arts&Sciences
A shooting star of British art, Hamad Butt died of AIDS in 1994.
Hamad Butt was a young English artist when he died of AIDS in 1994. After graduating from Goldsmiths University in London in 1990, and a fellow student of artist Damien Hirst, he was a shooting star in the British art world. He was the subject of a long article in The Guardian newspaper in June 2023. It wasContinue reading “A shooting star of British art, Hamad Butt died of AIDS in 1994. “
A scientist’s look at Johann Le Guillerm’s circus
For Johann Le Guillerm, the Scientifiss is a son of science. Touched, I’m laid bare. I’m a physics teacher and researcher, one of those lucky Scientifiss. I’m also passionate about Johann Le Guillerm’s work. What are the links between the two? I’ve seen several of his shows. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with him many times. AtContinue reading “A scientist’s look at Johann Le Guillerm’s circus”
“A physicist at museum”, my book published in March 23
Un Physicien au musée teaser : For physicist Joël Chevrier, certain universal questions such as motion, light, space, time, matter… are the bedrock of our lives, and everyone makes them their own. Science produces in-depth knowledge on each one, yet each scientist’s contribution is often no more than a grain of sand.But science is notContinue reading ““A physicist at museum”, my book published in March 23″
Olafur Eliasson: a Science & Design alliance building activism in the face of world transitions
Today, but already yesterday, energy and switches, the Smartphone and the designer Jony Ive. Tomorrow, but already today, the works of Olafur Eliasson to be together facing the transitions of the world.
Dust: from nanotechnologies to Marcel Duchamp’s « inframince »
Dust are everywhere. They invade the world and our lives. Dust Breeding by Marcel Duchamp, materialized by the famous photograph by Man Ray, turns dust into art.
Giuseppe Penone’s “Essere vento”: when art and science are intertwined
“Are you a physicist? “Giuseppe Penone asks me during the opening of his exhibition at the Grenoble Museum in November 2014. A little surprised, I answer: “Yes, I am a professor of physics at the university and a researcher in nanotechnology. « He then asked me: « Could you sculpt a grain of sand ? »
Little Sun Lamp by Olafur Eliasson: Energy, a material of the artwork ?
With Little Sun Lamp, Olafur Eliasson and Frederik Ottesen produce an altruistic artwork here. This work is very contemporary in its artistic, social and scientific resonance. Putting these three aspects into perspective is the subject of this article.
Tomas Saraceno, the spider, science and perception of the world.
Tomas Saraceno’s “On Air” exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo ended on January 6, 2019. Like thousands of visitors, I saw, fascinated, for hours, these immense spider webs vibrating in the dark. Tomas Saraceno pointed out, about a year ago, in an exchange with Nadine Botha : “I think there are a myriad of otherContinue reading “Tomas Saraceno, the spider, science and perception of the world.”
Fabienne Verdier, the painting at the heart of movement
That day, I prepare students for a workshop in which we will explore movement and gestures, using the sensors of smartphones. For the most part, the students are not scientists. At the end of the course, a design student says to me: “You should have a look at the work of Fabienne Verdier. Some ofContinue reading “Fabienne Verdier, the painting at the heart of movement”
Teaching, exploring, learning with students... 