Jennifer Steinkamp: Madame Curie on Display at MCASD, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego: January 23 - February 5, 2012
Posted in: Arts and Culture, Museums and Exhibits, Upcoming Events
MCASD has commissioned Jennifer Steinkamp to create a new work for MCASD Downtown’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Building on display from January 23rd through February 5th, 2012. Entitled Madame Curie, this new commission is inspired by Steinkamp’s recent research into atomic energy, atomic explosions, and the effects of these forces on nature. Marie Curie was the recipient of two Nobel Prizes for creating the theory of radioactivity, and discovering radium and polonium. She was also an avid gardener and lover of flowers. An enveloping panoramic work, the new piece activates a field of moving flowers and flowering trees in line with the imagery of Steinkamp’s 2010 work Orbit Without Seasons. Flowers rendered realistically for this new work include marsh marigolds, may flower, chestnut blooms, and hop plants, among many others drawn from a list of over 40 plants mentioned in Marie Curie’s biography written by her daughter, Eve Curie. The seven-channel projection engages the architecture of the space using seven synchronized projections onto three walls of the 4,500-square-foot gallery.
For more information, visit: www.mcasd.org/exhibitions/jennifer-steinkamp-madame-curie
Jennifer Steinkamp Madame Curie 2011 seven-channel, synchronized projection. Museum purchase with funds provided by Joan and Irwin Jacobs. Photo by Robert Wedemeyer.
