Ned Kahn "Tornado," 1990Ned Kahn was born in 1960 in Connecticut and is living and working since the early eighties in and around San Francisco. His academic background is a degree in environmental studies. Kahn worked for 14 years at the San Francisco Exploratorium (1982 - 1996), beginning as an apprentice in the machinist workshop where the exhibits are built and repaired. There he also met physicist Frank Oppenheimer1, the charismatic founder of the Exploratorium, who enjoyed ambiguous installations that blurred the boundary between art and science. Since these days Kahn is creating "environmental art," installations that visualise complex, natural processes. These installations are functional in that they can help us to understand these processes but they also have a very aesthetic side to them and can simply mesmerize and enchant. |
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Kahn's work usually involves a natural process that is being visualised by the motion of an elemental force. These forces be water, light, fire, wind present themselves in animated complexity such as waves, vortexes or turbulences. On one side they can be seen as scientific visualisations, for example making hidden or complex patterns in fluids visible - on the other hand they have an artistic side to them. Visitors also perceive the installations as visually captivating and aesthetically pleasing, being mesmerized by their swirling patterns or repetitive sounds. |
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Possibly worth another entry: Some quotes from Hugo Kükelhaus taken from the "Guidebook to The Freudenberg Experience Field." |
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Notes:1. Frank Oppenheimer was a physicist involved in the Manhattan project and, during the McCarthy era, also lived for ten years as a cattle rancher in Colorado. He came into education somewhat by accident and discovered the need for a comprehensive science museum while travelling Europe. Transcript and audio of an interview with Oppenheimer at Caltech's oral history project: http://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/69/ The Exploratoriums page for Frank Oppenheimer giving wonderful insights into the conceptual approach of installation/exhibition design, quotes, and the relationship between art and science: http://www.exploratorium.edu/frank/index.html |
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LInks:Ned Kahn site http://nedkahn.com |
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last update: 9/7/02009 18:42 About Contact Disclaimer Glossary Index |
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