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February 3, 2003 |
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UHCL contributes to NASA project
by Sarah Milstead
UH-Clear Lake, in conjunction with NASA and the Society for the Performing Arts, hosted "Sounds of Space & Kronos Quartet The NASA Project: Sun Rings" Jan. 22 at the Bayou Theater.
Speakers included Donald Gurnett, a physics and astronomy professor at the University of Iowa; Bert Ulrich, curator of the NASA Art Program; and David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet.
"[Sun Rings] is an artistic collaboration between NASA and the Kronos Quartet and composer Terry Riley, created in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Voyager Mission," Ulrich said.
UH-Clear Lake's part in the lecture was due to existing relationships with NASA and the Society for the Performing Arts.
"The Society for the Performing Arts hosted the discussion and UHCL underwrote the cost of the theater," said Resa Ott, director of alumni and community relations.
The discussion included an explanation by Gurnett on how the space sounds are recorded, complete with diagrams and a brief physics lesson. Harrington discussed the musical aspects of the project and mentioned hopes of releasing a DVD of the Sun Rings performance.
Kronos' multi-media performance of Sun Rings took place Jan. 23 at the Cullen Theater in Wortham Center. The concert combined Riley's music with space sounds recorded onboard Voyager, along with vibrant pictures and even some of Gurnett's physics equations projected on a screen behind the quartet as they played. The multi-media event is one of a select few large-scale projects the NASA Art Program has sponsored.
"It's interesting to see the commonalities between the minds of artists and scientists," Ulrich said. "They're both seeking unknown territories; artists through their creative imagination and scientists through their research and exploration."
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