Nanotechnology, Nanoscale and Art
Guest Editors: Tom Rockwell and Tami I. Spector
Leonardo Journal Call for Papers
Open Call
2011 is the International Year of Chemistry! To celebrate Leonardo is seeking to publish papers and artworks on the intersections of chemistry, nanotechnology and art for our on-going special section on nanotechnology and the arts. Since its inception nanotech/science has been intimately connected to chemistry; fullerenes, nanoputians, molecular machines, nano-inorganics and self-assembling molecular systems all spring from the minds and labs of chemists, biochemists and chemical engineers. If you’re a nano-oriented chemist who is serious about art, an artist working on the molecular level, or a chemical educator exploring the mysteries of nano through the arts we are especially seeking submissions from you.
Over the last decade, “nano” has become a buzzword signifying everything from imagined atomic-scale robotic utopias to small electronics. For scientists the shift toward nano has also become ubiquitous; what used to be referred to as molecular has been reframed as nano; 27 journals devoted to nanotech/nanoscience are now published; and the National Science Foundation and other granting agencies have devoted a significant amount of funding toward nanotech/nanoscience. Among engineers, scientists and science-studies scholars, discussions of the potential of nanotech/nanoscience abound, including conferences that debate the pros and cons of a nano-hegemony and attempt to debunk some of the hype. Artists, however, have only begun to explore this emergent scientific field, leaving it wide open for creative interpretation. With this special section of Leonardo, we hope to ignite artists’ interest in the exploration of nanotech/nanoscience and encourage scientists, scholars and educators to contemplate the implications of an art-nanotech/nanoscience connection.
Leonardo, in collaboration with the Exploratorium under the auspices of the Nanotech Informal Science Education Network, will publish a series of special sections periodically over the next 5 years exploring the intersections of nanotech/science and art. We are especially seeking submissions of artworks (visual, performance, sound, etc.) with artist’s statements explaining the relationship of the work to nanotech/science; essays from scientists, engineers and scholars exploring the connection between nanotech/science and art; and essays and visuals aiming at nanotech/science education that use the arts as a pedagogical tool.
Interested artists and authors are invited to send proposals, queries and/or manuscripts to the Leonardo editorial office at:
leonardomanuscripts@gmail.com
The Leonardo Scientists Working Group
Tami Spector, Chair
Nanotechnology and Art discussion on YASMIN Network (co-sponsored by Leonardo), moderated by piratas.de.la.ciencia
Posted by: Lanfranco Aceti