Join us Sunday, September 16th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the Pinecrest Gardens Historical Entrance Building, 11000 Red Road for this intimate gathering where visitors can talk to the physicist and artist about their work.
Smaller replicas of the banners will be on display so that visitors can see them and understand what happens when an artist and physicist “collide.” The original banners are on permanent on display at CERN, the world’s largest particle physics research center, in Geneva, Switzerland, where the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) resides.
“Science is my muse,” Mr. Cortada said. “The detection of the Higgs boson was intricate and multilayered, and so are the artworks I created. Stained glass references the LHC as a modern-day cathedral that helps us understand the universe and shape our new worldview. The oil painting technique honors those who came before us, the repetition of motifs across the five works celebrates internationalism and rendering the work as ‘banners’ marks this as a monumental event.”
Xavier Cortada
Xavier Cortada’s science art practice is oriented toward social engagement and the environment. At CERN, Cortada worked with physicist Pete Markowitz to develop a site-specific art installation capturing the five search strategies used to discover the Higgs boson particle. The five giant banners hang at the location (more than 300 feet below ground) where the particle was discovered.Mr. Cortada often collaborates with scientists in his art-making, and has worked with groups globally to produce numerous joint art projects, including environmental installations at the North Pole and South Pole, peace murals in Cyprus and Northern Ireland, child welfare murals in Bolivia and Panama, AIDS murals in Switzerland and South Africa and eco-art projects in Taiwan and Holland.
