Blue Morph
Aesthetic, interaction, and technical design of the interactive platform on Blue Morph, Victoria Vesna and James Gimzewski's bio-art installation, during the UCLA Art|Sci period.
- Aesthetic, interaction, and technical design of the interactive platform (seat)
- UCLA Art|Sci Center + Lab period; artist-led collaboration
- c. 2010–2014
- Los Angeles, CA
- Art-science
- Completed
What it is. Blue Morph is a bio-art installation by Victoria Vesna and James Gimzewski, built around the nanostructure of Morpho-butterfly wing scales, where color is produced by physical structure and light interference rather than pigment, alongside the sounds of a butterfly’s metamorphosis. The studio’s involvement was on the technical and interaction-design side, during the UCLA Art|Sci period (Fellow / Lecturer at the Art|Sci Center, while co-running LA Biohackers).
The role. The studio designed the interactive platform, the seat through which a visitor’s stillness drives the piece. The work began on its construction, the credit Harvestworks lists, and grew into the aesthetic and interaction design of that platform: how it looked, how it sat, and how the visitor’s body and quiet became the input. The installation is Victoria Vesna and James Gimzewski’s.
Why it’s here. This was one of the first times the practice worked on the build side of someone else’s art-science work, and it fed directly into how the studio later ran exhibition teams.
Collaborators
- Victoria Vesna and James Gimzewski — lead artists
- UCLA Art|Sci Center + Lab — program context
Press and references
Related work
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BioForge — DIYbio at MICROWAVE 2011
A public hands-on DIYbio genomic-exploration installation led for the MICROWAVE International New Media Arts Festival in Hong Kong, on behalf of the UCLA Art|Sci Center. Romie's name for it was BioForge.
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RegisTree
Lead-artist role on RegisTree, presented within The End of You, the immersive group exhibition that opened at Gray Area in San Francisco in early 2020.