THE LABORATORY
A new forum and platform for idea experimentation in the arts and sciences at Harvard University. Located in the heart of the Harvard campus within the newly completed Northwest Science Building at 52 Oxford Street, THE LABORATORY catalyzes the development of Harvard student and faculty ideas in the arts and sciences through work-in-progress exhibits, monthly Idea Nights, and annual experiments between leading inter- national artists and Harvard University scientists.
THE LABORATORY, conceived around the model of the art and design center Le Laboratoire in Paris, France, opens on November 8, 2009 with a catalogue and text installation developed through a recent Laboratoire experiment V≠L between the Japanese digital composer Ryoji Ikeda and the Harvard mathematician Benedict Gross – and with an evening performance of Ikeda’s datamatics [ver2.0] in Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall. Among the student ideas exhibited from the September opening as works in progress are: Lebone, a new for-profit and nonprofit platform for developing lighting solutions to sub-Saharan Africa; MuseTrek, a new Internet website and handheld technology platform for rethinking how we experience museums; Le Whif, a new way of eating by aerosol and commercialized internationally in the form of inhaled chocolate; GIGUE, an exciting, interactive audio-visual installation that exhibits the naturally musical processes of the human body through the media of music, dance, and theater; StreetScapes Theatre, a novel technological idea to take theatre out of traditional theatrical spaces and engage the public as actors; LifeCell, a new way of transporting and filtering water in low-income parts of the world based on the principles of biological cell structure and Buckminster Fuller’s ideas of tensegrity; Soccket, a novel way of generating power and educating youth in the developing world through sport; VertiGrow, an idea for providing unique ‘urban farming’ options suited to the needs of developing world slum or shanty town environments.
The Laboratory has two core programs:
Idea Translation
Harvard students develop surprising and innovative ideas at the university. Many of these are developed in classes where student idea conception, formulation, and development accompany and propel student learning. From design courses in Visual and Environmental Studies (VES), the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and the Graduate School of Design (GSD), to film courses in History of Science, educating students through idea development encourages aesthetic and analytical processes of creative thought. Outcomes range from new designs, books and films, to new companies and humanitarian organizations.
The Idea Translation program of THE LABORATORY will include exhibitions of current and ongoing past student ideas selected, prepared, and exhibited through the Idea Translation Lab at Harvard University. The Idea Translation program will also include monthly Idea Nights, organized by Harvard students under the direction of the Idea Translation Lab and open to the entire Harvard Community, where exhibited ideas will be discussed with Har- vard faculty and other thought leaders. Idea Nights will include music, dance and theater performances by Harvard students.
Artscience Exhibition
Contemporary artists and designers increasingly create around cutting edges of science ranging from biology to the environment. The Artscience Exhibition program will invite leading contemporary artists and designers to develop works of art and design around science themes relevant to major science partners to THE LABORATORY including the Wyss Institute, the Harvard Initiative for Global Health (HIGH) and SEAS. These works, developed in partnership with the Paris-based art and design innovation center Le Laboratoire, will be exhibited in the lobby and hall areas and frame the context for public exhibition evenings, conferences, and interdisciplinary faculty discussions around issues that bridge the arts and sciences.
Background
With the continued growth and diversification of knowledge today, the processes of idea development, notably the translation of ideas of hypothetical and original nature to beneficially impact culture, society, industry and basic research, remains a principal, enduring and universal quality of a Harvard University education and lies at the heart of scholarly activities across the college and in the professional schools. Yet, while idea translation outside the traditional educational structure cuts famously across disciplines, disciplinary boundaries within the university tend to channel idea development in more predictable if less innovative ways.
THE LABORATORY is a three-year experiment at Harvard University in breaking down boundaries between the arts and sciences to accelerate learning.
THE LABORATORY is principally an exhibition and meeting space for student idea development within and between the arts and sciences. Housed in lower level lounge, extending to the halls and lobby of the new Northwest Science Building, it will also serve as a forum for interfaculty and public creative expression and dialog.
In its first year THE LABORATORY will primarily serve the Harvard Community. In its second and third years THE LABORATORY will explore public programming in partnership with other art organizations on campus, including the Harvard Art Museum, the American Repertory Theater, and the Carpenter Center.