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WHITE HEAT: art, science and social responsibility in 1960s Britain To coincide with Gustav Metzger: LIFT OFF! the current exhibition at Kettle’s Yard.
press notice
An exciting one-day conference exploring the relationships between art, science and society in the 1960s. 50 years on, key figures from this period will join speakers from the fields of art and cultural history, the history and philosophy of science, activism and popular culture to revisit one of the most intense periods of intellectual and cultural ferment. The symposium takes place in the very lecture theatre where, in 1965, Gustav Metzger gave his iconic lecture/demonstration “The Chemical Revolution in Art�. In this lecture Metzger discussed his ideas about movement, time and transformation in art and demonstrated for the first time Liquid Crystals. Following the symposium there will be an evening opening of the exhibition Gustav Metzger: LIFT OFF! including his landmark piece Liquid Crystal Environment. Highlights of the programme include an introduction to Gustav Metzger’s Chemical Revolution by curator Elizabeth Fisher with video contributions from Gustav Metzger. Other key figures of the 1960s art world will present on this turbulent decade, including curator Jasia Reichardt, who will discuss her curatorial work during the 1960s on seminal exhibitions such as the first show of British Pop Art in London; Between Poetry and Painting.
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Contemporary artist Neal White will discuss the continued legacy of 1960s research based artistic practice. While talks on the publications Studio International and Leonardo Journal will further explore the interdisciplinary links between art and science in the 1960s. The day will also include a panel discussion on The British Society for Social Responsibility in Science (BSSRS), a ‘radical science’ movement launched in 1969. Supporters of BSSRS included Francis Crick and Bertrand Russell and the movement aimed to open up the politics of science to both scientific and public scrutiny through pub-based seminars and the Science for People magazine.
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NOTES FOR EDITORS Gustav Metzger: Born in 1926, his career has spanned over sixty years of art and political activism. Metzger began his artistic career at the Cambridge School of Art in 1945, and returned to deliver two seminal lecture/demonstrations at the University of Cambridge in 1960 and 1965. LIFT OFF! focuses on Metzger’s auto-creative work bringing together installations, archive, film and sculptures. Liquid Crystal Environment is an immersive artwork where constantly shifting psychedelic patterns are created through the projection of heat-sensitive liquid crystals. WHITE HEAT: art, science and social responsibility in the 1960s 26 July 2014 9.30-4.45pm: Lecture Theatre LT0, Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1PZ 5.30-7pm: Kettle’s Yard, Castle Street, Cambridge, CB3 0AQ £20 (£15 concessions) including lunch and refreshments Speakers include Alice Bell, Jonathan Benthall, Bronac Ferran, Elizabeth Fisher, David Gale, Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon, Roger Malina, Jerry Ravetz, Jasia Reichardt, Neal White and Robert M. Young. Organised by Elizabeth Fisher with Kettle’s Yard, in consultation with art-science curators Bronac Ferran and Thereza Wells. http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/whiteheat/ Book online or call 01223 748100