Event Blog 3: UCLA Meteorite Collection

May 19, 2019

Event Blog 3: UCLA Meteorite Collection

            Last Friday, I visited the UCLA Meteorite Collection. I learned that meteorites are fragments of asteroids that made their way through space to Earth. There are two main classes: primitive (chondrite) and differentiated. The main difference between the two is that the latter experienced a melting phase. But the important question is: how does this relate to art?

Los Angeles, a Martian differentiated meteorite

            In the last century, artists have played a critical role in astronomy and the discovery of new elements. Most of the meteorites we find are split up into tiny fragments, which make them extremely difficult for scientists to study. Artists are a key factor in piecing these fragments together to form a whole through a process called mosaic restructuring. Many of the newly added elements to the periodic table since it was first created by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869 have come from materials found in the composition of these meteorites that would not have been possible without the work of artists. 

Campo del Cielo meteorite

            Katie Peterson is an extraordinary example of an artist making headway in this field. After conducting research and heeding advice from industry experts, she acquired the perfect meteorite for her project, the Campo del Cielo, an iron differentiated rock that fell in Argentina. Her goal was to recreate the meteorite as it was billions of years ago before it arrived on Earth. This reconstitution had never been attempted before because of the extreme heat required to melt the inner metallic core of a differentiated meteorite. In an interview with Vice, she described how she was able to successfully heat the core to a melting point by fusing together the meteorite with ionized lead in a combustion reactor. 

            Faivovich and Goldberg are two Argentinian artists who took a different approach with Campo del Cielo than Katie Peterson. Inspired by how the meteorite "was older than the planet we are all standing on," these artists wanted to capture specific images of the interior of the meteorite. By shaving pieces of the fragmented objects until they were thin enough, light was able to shine through the colored transparent minerals that are dispersed in the metal. Their art is currently on display at the ASU Museum.

Faivovich and Goldberg's Transparency

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE39xKpLJqA (Video demonstrating how Faivovich and Goldberg conducted their project)

           

            Overall this meteorite collection demonstrates the perfect intertwining of the "two cultures" that C.P. Snow discussed in his lecture at Cambridge University in 1959. I would definitely recommend visiting, as it is a great opportunity to start exploring the collaboration between the art and science community. 

Me at the UCLA Meteorite Collection

References

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1959. Print.

Hill, Troy. “Argentine Meteorite Art Crashes into the ASU Art Museum.” The Arizona State Press, 16 Oct. 2018, www.statepress.com/article/2018/10/spartcult-argentine-meteorite-art-crashes-into-the-asu-art-museum.

Holmes, Kevin. “How To Melt A Meteorite: Artist Katie Paterson Is Refashioning Some Ancient Space Rock.” Vice, VICE, 27 July 2012, www.vice.com/en_us/article/wnz9nq/how-to-melt-a-meteorite-artist-katie-paterson-is-refashioning-some-ancient-space-rock.

OutofaBlueSkyMeteor. “How to ID / Identify a Meteorite - Stone.” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Nov. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhlbntm3-tE.

Thorpe, Vanessa. “When a Young Artist Meets an Ancient Meteorite.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 21 July 2012, www.theguardian.com/global/2012/jul/22/meteorite-katie-paterson-field-sky.

“Development of the Periodic Table.” Science Learning Hub, 15 Feb. 2012, www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1804-development-of-the-periodic-table.

Peterson, Katie. Campo del Cielo. Photograph. 2016. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wnz9nq/how-to-melt-a-meteorite-artist-katie-paterson-is-refashioning-some-ancient-space-rock.

Guillermo, Faivovich and Nicholas Goldberg. Transparency. Photograph. 2019. https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artwork/13967/Faivovich-Goldberg-N%C3%BAmero-1.