Great Work of the Metal Lover

source: adamwbrown

Historically, Magnum Opus, or The Great Work, was an alchemical process that incorporated a personal, spiritual and chemical method for creating the Philosopher’s Stone, a mysterious red colored substance that was capable of transmuting base matter into the noble metal of gold. Discovering the principals of the Philosopher’s Stone was one of the defining and at the same time seemingly unobtainable objectives of Western alchemy.

The Great Work of the Metal Lover is an artwork that sits at the intersection of art, science and alchemy, re-examining the problem of transmutation through the use of modern microbiological practice and thus solving the ancient riddle.

Gold production is accomplished by the pairing of a highly specialized metallotolerant extremophilic bacterium and an engineered atmosphere contained within a customized alchemical bioreactor. The extreme minimal ecosystem within the bioreactor forces the bacteria to metabolize high concentrations of toxic AuCl3 (gold chloride), turning soluble gold into usable 24K gold.

Extremophiles are microorganisms that are able to survive and flourish in physically and/or chemically extreme conditions that would kill most of the life on our planet. It is believed that extremophiles hold the key to understanding how life may have originated due to their unique ability to metabolize toxic substances like uranium, arsenic and gold chloride.

Interestingly, the earth’s lakes and oceans contain vast quantities of dissolved gold, perhaps as much as ten trillion dollars worth, though in dilute concentrations. Because of its form, it is virtually unusable. There is now compelling evidence suggesting that many of the earth’s gold deposits are formed not through heat, pressure and geochemical processes alone, but are indeed formed by microorganisms.

The Great Work of the Metal Lover is an artwork that exists in two parts. The first part is an installation consisting of custom laboratory equipment including a glass alchemical bioreactor, a gas manifold and a gas tank filled with carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The process is all documented in real time by a USB microscope and a real time video feed.

The second part of the work consists of a series of images made with a scanning electron microscope. Digital prints are made using modern technology. Gold deposits produced by the bacteria are identified within a polysaccharide matrix formed by cell aggregates or biofilms. Then, using ancient gold illumination techniques, 24K gold leaf is selectively applied to regions of the print where a bacterial gold deposit has been identified. Each print contains some of the gold that was produced in the bioreactor.

Gold has played a vital role throughout history, and has been recognized for its glorification of both humanity and the divine. It is treasured for its rarity, malleability and incorruptibility. It resists oxidation, corrosion and other chemical bonding processes. Like alchemy, gold is imbued with secrets of the earth, origins of life and early metabolic processes. The Great Work of the Metal Lover speaks directly to the scientific preoccupation with trying to shape and bend biology to our will within the post biological age, essentially questioning the ethical and political ramifications of attempting to perfect nature.

Adam Brown is an internationally recognized conceptual artist whose work incorporates art and science hybrids including living and biological systems, robotics, molecular chemistry and emerging technologies that take the form of installation, interactive objects, video, performance and photography. Brown’s creative research is informed by a background in Intermedia, a philosophy that provides a framework for breaking down and combining different models of thought and bringing together disparate disciplines, leading to the establishment of new forms of research and creative activity. To this end, most of his creative and research endeavors are collaborative in nature.

His most recent project, The Great Work of the Metal Lover (with Dr. Kazem Kashefi) is an artwork that sits at the intersection of art, science and alchemy. The piece received an Honorary Mention and was exhibited at Ars Electronica 2012 and received an Award of Distinction from Vida 14.

Origins of Life: Experiment #1.x, is a working scientific experiment using simulated lightning, heat and primordial gases that has been repositioned as an art installation (with Dr. Robert Root Bernstein). The “open source” project, which invites contributions and participation from other scientists, builds on Miller’s 1953 iconic experiment. In 2011 the piece was selected as part of Ars Electronica and the Synth-ethic exhibition in Vienna. In 2012, Brown and Root-Bernstein received a grant from the National Science Foundation to continue this project.

His earlier work Bion (with Dr. Andrew Fagg) makes reference to an individual element of primordial biological energy identified as “orgone” by the scientist Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957). The interactive installation is a sensor network composed of more then one thousand, mass-produced, three-dimensional glowing and chirping autonomous robots called bions. In 2006 Brown was selected as an emerging artist to exhibit this piece in Archival to the Contemporary, Six Decades of the Sculptors Guild and that same year it was also selected for SigGraph in Boston. In 2010 the work appeared in the Brazilian Biennial Emoção Art.ficial 5.0 in Sao Paulo.

Brown’s work has been written about widely in publications such as the New York Times, Wired, Nature, Sculpture Magazine, Washington Post, Forbes, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Discover and the Huffington Post.

Brown currently is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University where he created a new area of study called Electronic Art & Intermedia. He is also a Research Fellow at the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts at Ball State University, and serves as an Artist in Residence for the Michigan State University BEACON (Bio/Computational Evolution in Action Consortium) project, funded by the NSF. Previously he was an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma, where he developed an electronic art program called Symbiotic Media. He received his BA, MA and MFA from the University of Iowa.

Art and technology are inextricably linked; as an educator, I teach students about the historical origins and references from which art and technology are derived. At the onset of introductory courses, I begin with a lecture that illuminates these concepts. There is a rich history behind the art and technology connection that dates back thousands of years. A caveman with a story to tell about a recent hunt painted a bison on the dark wall of a cave. Gathering his friends together, the caveman led them to this darkened space. It is here, in that damp cave, he illuminated the figure of the bison and began to tell his story using the ancient tools of fire and pigment. Contemporary creative practice is derived from the caveman’s origins. Recognizing this history is critical as it highlights the connections among communication, art, technology and humankind.

As an educator, I engage students in discussions not only about the work they create, and the technology they use, but also encourage them to question the broader social implications of creating art in this technological age. What is the role of the artist’s voice? What are the social consequences of producing work in the new mediascape? How does an artist use this electronic media? Is there a difference between an artist working today versus an artist who lived one hundred years ago?

I bring ideas of Intermedia and Symbiotic Media into all of my teaching. These philosophies support collaboration among media and other disciplines, without situating one art form over another. They are concept-driven, intermixing theoretical considerations with art practices. Introductory courses command a more rigid structure, while intermediate and advanced courses emphasize trans-disciplinary investigations, research and praxis. I expect that all students produce a multitude of work, and I attempt to foster an environment that is conducive to the exchange of feedback and ideas from all class participants.
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source: we-make-money-not-art

Adam Brown is a conceptual artist working with scientists to create art pieces that use robotics, molecular chemistry, living systems and emerging technologies. Years ago, i saw one of his works at Emoção Art.ficial [Art.ficial Emotion], a Biennial of Art and Technology in Sao Paulo. The robotic sculpture, called Bion, explored the relationship between humans and artificial life. Fast forward to May 2013 when i am aimlessly clicking around and stumble upon one of his most recent pieces. This time, the project doesn’t use swarms of responsive synthetic “life-form” but bacteria that, over a period of one week, process the toxins of gold chloride and produce nuggets of 24-karat gold.

Brown brings together science and art into each of his works, from the initial concept up to the final realization. His artistic practice not only challenges scientific inquiry but it also comes with undeniable aesthetic qualities (something that is sometimes little more than a second thought in artworks that make use of the latest advances in science and technology.) Simply put, his artworks are beautiful to look at. While the Bion sculpture (below) is as stunning as it is smart, Origins of Life: Experiment #1.x (a working scientific experiment that builds on Miller-Urey’s 1953 experiment to draw attention to the artifice and aesthetics of experimentation) neatly hangs scientific instruments and processes on a wall as if they were museum paintings.
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source: terrarealtime

Esiste la pietra filosofale, tra le cui capacità ci sarebbe stata quella di tramutare i metalli vili in oro? Secoli di alchimia e di chimica hanno dimostrato di no, ma una nuova installazione a metà tra arte e scienza sembra aver trovato nella biologia una nuova risposta alla domanda.

I ricercatori della Michigan State University hanno utilizzato il batterioCupriavidus metallidurans per creare minuscole pepite d’oro a partire dal cloruro aurico (AuCl3), un sale d’oro dell’acido cloridrico estremamente tossico per la maggior parte delle forme di vita conosciute.

Il Cupriavidus metallidurans è un batterio che può essere considerato a tutti gli effetti un estremofilo per via della sua capacità di resistere ad alte concentrazioni di metalli pesanti. E’ un microrganismo che ha già trovato applicazioni pratiche in campo scientifico e industriale, ad esempio nel rilevamento di metalli pesanti in ambienti contaminati, ma l’utilizzo pensato dal gruppo di Kazem Kashefi, professore di microbiologia dell’università, è del tutto nuovo e inaspettato.

“Stiamo facendo alchimia microbica, trasformiamo qualcosa che non ha valore in un metallo prezioso solido dotato di valore” ha spiegato Kashefi. “E’ neo-alchimia. Ogni parte e ogni dettaglio del progetto sono a metà strada tra la moderna microbiologia e l’alchimia. La scienza tenta di spiegare il mondo fenomenologico. Come artista, tento di creare un fenomeno. L’arte è la capacità di spingere la ricerca scientifica” sostiene Adam Brown, professore di arte elettronica dell’università e membro del team di ricerca.

Anche un altro microrganismo, il Delftia acidovorans, è noto per la sua abilità di scomporre il cloruro aurico in oro, ma ha la spiacevole abilità di trasformare il metallo prezioso in nanoparticelle che tengono ad accumularsi nel terreno sotto forma di pepite dopo un tempo francamente troppo lungo per un’esposizione artistica.

Il C. metallidurans si è dimostrato resistente ai metalli pesanti ben 25 volte di più di quanto si sospettasse in precedenza, ed è anche per questo motivo che è stato scelto per l’installazione artistica dal titolo “The Great Work of the Metal Lover”, un esperimento ai confini tra arte e scienza in cui il batterio crea oro a 24 carati all’interno di un bioreattore.

Kashafi e Brown hanno alimentato i C. metallidurans con dosi massicce di cloruro aurico, dosi che tuttavia non sembrano aver avuto conseguenze sul metabolismo di questi batteri. Come sottoprodotto della digestione del cloruro aurico, i C. metallidurans producono piccole pepite d’oro, visibili attraverso il vetro del bioreattore.

Se già state volando con la fantasia immaginando enormi bioreattori popolati daC. metallidurans che sfornano pepite d’oro a non finire, i ricercatori tengono a precisare che riprodurre il loro esperimento su larga scala sarebbe del tutto proibitivo in termini di costi.

Ma la ricerca sul C. metallidurans, oltre a fornire preziose informazioni sulle conseguenze cellulari della contaminazione da metalli pesanti, potrebbe aiutare a trovare nuove strade per l’approvvigionamento di alcuni elementi così importanti per l’economia moderna, strade possibilmente più ecosostenibili di quelle percorse oggigiorno.