CHAIRS: Andrea Polli and Susan Latham

Hugo Cifre, Álvaro Gomis García and Miguel Ángel Maure Blesa of Espacio La Nube and Cristopher Cichocki will discuss their work and pieces that are featured in the PASEO 2018 Festival in Taos, New Mexico September 14-15. The PASEO Festival is a large outdoor art festival, free to the public, featuring new media, projection, architectural and other installation artworks placed on the streets and walls of the historic district and in Kit Carson Park in Taos, New Mexico. https://paseoproject.org/paseo-2018-overview/

Cristopher Cichocki lives and works in the desert of Southern California’s Coachella Valley. For decades, his work encapsulated the cycle of decay and renewal through an examination between humankind, the natural world, and industrial production. Extending upon the historical trajectory of Land Art, Cichocki underlines the increasingly toxic global environment confronting our planet in the new millennium. Situated on the fringe of art and natural science, the artist's environmental interventions reflect on the timeline spanning from prehistoric oceans to present-day transmutations, responding to the dynamic ecology and water issues of the region through interconnected works of painting, sculpture, video, photography, performance, sound, installation and architectural intervention. Christopher's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions around the world including the museum of Image and Sound, São Paulo; Museum of Moving Image, New York; Venice; and Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin; and is a featured artist at the The Paseo Festival, Taos, New Mexico, September 14 -16, 2018. https://www.cristophersea.com/

Espacio La Nube is an award-winning design and architectural team including Hugo Cifre, Álvaro Gomis García and Miguel Ángel Maure Blesa based in Madrid, Spain that creates inflatable architecture on a grand scale. In their first appearance in the USA they will bring Space Cloud, an innovative 8,000 sq.ft. pavilion with an integrated LED lighting system. Space Cloud is an ephemeral space created from 12,900 square feet of cloth and 26,900 square feet of air. Entry through the doorway, like lips of fabric, brings visitors to the interior creating a dreamlike sensory experience that can be inhabited and used in multiple ways. A second doorway leads to a hidden plaza at the center of the structure. Espacio La Nube collaborated with companies from various sectors providing them with the latest technology in the field of pneumatics, lighting technology and aerodynamics to create Space Cloud. The structure was versatile enough to accommodate as many as 300 students, host a cultural program of conferences, performances, masterclasses of the event, as well as an exhibition space for architects and artists during the Week of Architecture in Madrid in October, 2016. https://www.espaciolanube.com/

About Leonardo/ISAST and LASER talks

Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (Leonardo/ISAST), 501(c)3, serves a global network of distinguished scholars, artists, scientists, researchers and thinkers through programs focused on interdisciplinary work, a community network, research and events in Art/Science/Technology and, since 2008, a network of Leonardo Art, Science, Evening Rendezvous (LASER) public outreach talks around the world. LASERs take place in Zurich, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, New York City, London, Montreal and now Santa Fe, New Mexico. Biocultura hosts at least four LASERs per year in Santa Fe. For more information go to: http://www.leonardo.info/isast/laser.html

About Biocultura and LASER Santa Fe

Biocultura operates at the intersection of biology, art and design with a focus on creation and education. Biocultura events are designed to stimulate thought and discussion, aiming to connect biology and art to our personal lives, histories, communities and environments. In 2017 Biocultura was selected by Leonardo as the official host of LASER Santa Fe. More information at: bioculturasantafe.com

About PASEO Project

The PASEO Project’s mission is to transform art through community and community through art. PASEO was founded by J Matt Thomas, architect, artist and founder of Studio Taos, and Agnes Chavez, sci-artist and educator, developer of SUBE: Teaching Language Through Art, Music & Games, a second language curriculum, and of the STEMArts Lab of Taos. PASEO Project creates a platform for art that is experimental, time-based, ephemeral, participatory, and context responsive by engaging the community in contemporary art practices, education, workshops and the annual PASEO festival. https://paseoproject.org/

Thanks to Santa Fe Community College for hosting the fourth Santa Fe LASER event. See https://www.sfcc.edu/ for information on classes and programs. Much appreciation to Bernadette Jacobs, John Boyce, Camilla Bustamante and Fran Nawrocki for their support.

SPONSORS:

LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) Talks is Leonardo's international program of evening gatherings that bring artists and scientists together for informal presentations and conversations. LASER Talks were founded in 2008 by Bay Area LASER Chair Piero Scaruffi and are in over 30 cities around the world. To learn more about how our LASER Hosts and to visit a LASER near you please visit our website. 

The mission of the LASERs is to provide the general public with a snapshot of the cultural environment of a region and to foster interdisciplinary networking.