[ISEA2017] Artists Statement: Thomas Asmuth & Sara Gevurtz — Turbidity Paintings

Artists Statement 

INSTALLATIONS

In the project titled Turbidity Paintings, principal investigators Thomas Asmuth (UWF) and Sara Gevurtz (VCU) are artists who propose a methodology for visualization of water quality which integrates image capture and data metrics into one data-object (time specific images encoded with data metrics). The project leverages wide availability of free/libre open source software (FLOSS) and low costs of open source hardware (OSH) that has critically impacted and supported the citizen science movement. The combined data-objects will be used to construct a baseline data library from a variety of domestic and international locations. Turbidity Paintings explores and challenges the divide between the arts and the sciences and directly questions the role of the artist when dealing with science and scientific data. The iterative process and procedure are nearly indistinguishable in art and science. The role of the artist and the art in this project is to create an experimental model which leads to new dialogues on water quality.

  • Thomas Asmuth, Associate Professor, University of West Florida, Pensacola FL, USA. Thomas Asmuth is an artist and an Associate Professor at the University of West Florida where he teaches courses in digital and experimental media at the UWF Department of Art. Asmuth utilizes science and technology as method and media to explore culture, aesthetics, social practices, and performance. Asmuth is an alumnus of the CADRE Laboratory for New Media at San José State (MFA 2009) and holds a BFA in Painting (2000) from the San Francisco Art Institute. Asmuth’s currently working on a collaborative project involving new representations of water quality data to investigate the abstractions of data and perception regarding the public comprehension of ecosystems. With a keen interest in Merleau-Ponty’s _Primacy of Perception_ theory, Asmuth and his collaborators are exploring transdisciplinary methods/development. The team includes other artists, microbiologists, marine scientists, and geneticists. Asmuth’s works and collaborations have been exhibited in the United States and internationally including: NetArtizen, Thompson Gallery (San José State University), SECAC2016, SECAC2013, Missouri State University Brick City Gallery, 319 Scholes, turbulence.org (sic), International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA2011, ISEA2016, ISEA2017), the Laguna Art Museum, Zer01 Biennial (2006, 2008, & 2012), the Electronic Gallery at Salisbury University, Montalvo Arts Center, College of Wooster and the Francis Tang Teaching Museum. thomasasmuth.com
  • Sara Gevurtz, USA