The Conversation

UC Davis Art Studio presents an exhibition juxtaposing two new largescale projects designed to galvanize conversation and collaboration between artists, designers, scientists, writers, curators, academics, entrepreneurs, and the art public during and after Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco. The Invitation is a series of photographs produced in 2014 as interdisciplinary collaborations within the UC Davis art community and outside professionals making significant contributions to their field. Each work is produced from discussions, studio visits, and correspondence between two researchers. Separate and distinct fields of inquiry are crystallized into a single picture. The exchange reveals a cross section of investigations underway at UC Davis, interpreted visually. The picture is the conversation. Hexagon/Pentagon is a sculpture produced by The Skull Sessions, an ongoing collaborative project by Andrea Galvani and Tim Hyde. The modular system is alive and in flux, and can be continuously reconfigured to facilitate conversations in the space of the exhibition. For Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco, the sculpture is a locus for planned and spontaneous actions initiated by the UC Davis Art Studio faculty over the three days of the event.

Timothy Hyde
Untitled (Monument) SV11
Photo collage on plexiglass
16.5 × 24.5 inches
Unique piece
2014

Timothy Hyde & Andrea Galvani Hexagon/Pentagon Iteration III: Weather treated MDF, Dimensions variable
2014-2015
Ed. of 3

“Chirality” is new collaborative artwork in which scientists and artists at UC Davis attempt to speak the language of plants.  Plants communicate by employing a system of interlocking chemicals that read and respond to environmental stimuli. This language is nuanced and deeply complex. UC Davis researchers are currently deciphering this language to learn its alphabet and grammar.  “Chirality” is a specific instance of plant communication in which mirrored compounds instruct the plant to simultaneously grow and defend itself. Learning to speak this language connects us in new ways to the non-human living world.

Pablo Ortiz
Flight of the Flies in the Bottle
23.5”x17”
Musical score, Graphite on Paper
2015