NANOTECHNOLOGY, NANOSCALE SCIENCE AND ART

Leonardo Journal Call for Papers: NANOTECHNOLOGY, NANOSCALE SCIENCE AND ART

Louis Bec, «Prolegomena», 1993
Screenshot | © Louis Bec

Guest Editors: Tom Rockwell and Tami I. Spector

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
<http://www.leonardo.info/isast/sci-workgroup.html>
(Tami Spector, Chair)

*Nanotechnology and Art
<http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin/viewtopic.php?t=1262>
discussion on YASMIN Network (co-sponsored by Leonardo), moderated by
piratas.de.la.ciencia