28.04.2011, at 6 p.m

 

The Pleasure of Light György Kepes and Frank J. Malina at the intersection of Art and Science

 

 

Lecture by Nina Czegledy (the curator of the Pleasure of Light exhibition) & Roger Malina (son of Frank J. Malina) with screening of movies dedicated to György Kepes and Frank J. Malina.

 

In his artwork Frank J. Malina explored issues of tension, transparency, light and movement and in the fifties began exploring kinetic art. In the process of these art experiments, he became conscious of the links to vision research by psychologists and cognitive scientists – this permeable art & science connection was clearly unrecognized at that time. He had his first solo show in 1953 in Paris, with numerous exhibitions to follow. In 1968, Malina founded Leonardo – a pioneering journal interweaving art and science and technology. 

 

Kepes, a Hungarian-born painter, designer, educator and art theorist, was stimulated early on by the experimental Kassák circle and subsequently collaborated on many projects with László Moholy-Nagy. He was a visionary and a pioneer converging art and technology in America, although he became best known for his theoretical and educational work. He summarized his concepts in The Language of Vision, his world-famed book.

 

In 1947 Kepes accepted an invitation to teach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where in 1967, he founded the Center for Advanced Visual Studies, dedicated to advance new technologies and creative collaboration between scientists and artists. Kepes firmly believed that visual language conveys facts and ideas in a wider and deeper range than almost any means of communication and realized this belief through his pioneering light installations. During these years at MIT he also developed collaborative public art projects seeking new, publicly accessible interpretations. 

 

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