...Her uniquely multidimensional art practice highlights connections between old and new technologies, presenting new tactile understanding of materials...Splan’s project also reconnects the animal to its cells, forcing us to consider the physicality of the interspecies research. The conceptual framework allows for more nuanced discussions about genetically engineered antibodies, and their connection to recombinant DNA technology...
Cindy Stockton Moore
Essays
Cindy Stockton Moore, Angela Mcquillan, Ben Doranz, Tom Charpentier and others
...PyMOL (and other graphic modeling systems) are used by Integral Molecular to map the structure of viruses...Splan downloaded the software in her studio, experimenting back in Brooklyn between trips. Her experimentation with the ‘Sculpt’ function within the software was a new development to the team at Integral Molecular and has since been used to assist their modeling of antibody and antigen interactions. Splan’s project builds on her experience with weaving and fiber arts. Her uniquely multidimensional art practice highlights connections between old and new technologies, where the binary system of warp and weft parallels the circuitry commands of computational devices. For the scientists at Integral Molecular, the artist is also presenting a new tactile understanding of the materials that they use on a daily basis. This shift in perspective is indicative of the benefits of inviting artists into the lab - where breakthroughs are often predicated by the introduction of outside elements. Splan’s project also reconnects the animal to its cells, forcing us to consider the physicality of the interspecies research. The conceptual framework allows for more nuanced discussions about genetically engineered antibodies, and their connection to recombinant DNA technology...—Artists in The Lab, by Cindy Stockton Moore
...We have had great experiences working with the artists-in-residence. They each brought different and unique backgrounds to Integral Molecular, and I was lucky to be able to interact with artists and contribute to their projects. A lot of my work at Integral Molecular uses specialized software to model proteins in 3D, to help us engineer biological drugs. Sharing these tools with the artists helped them visualize some of the proteins that we work with and sparked their ideas for images and even making related structures as artworks. It was incredibly rewarding to see the artists incorporate and transform our science in their art, I think we were all fascinated by their ideas and ingenuity - any time an artist showed their work at our company-wide meetings the response was really enthusiastic. The artist-in-residence program promotes science in a new and captivating way,showing that science can be fun while providing striking insights into our current world. I can’t wait for future collaborations!...—A Scientist‘s Perspective, by Tom Charpentier, Scientist at Integral Molecular
