New work 2008: Angel of the West in the background and a back view of Science (Quantum Woman) in the foreground
Photo: LeeAnn Gauthier
New work 2008: Angel of the West in the background and a back view of Science (Quantum Woman) in the foreground
Photo: LeeAnn Gauthier
Birth of an Idea, 2007
Steel, wood, and glass
Height 5' (1.50 m)
Photo: Dan Kvitka
Background: This sculpture was commissioned by Roderick MacKinnon of Rockefeller University. "Birth of an Idea" is based on the potassium channel KcsA which was resolved by MacKinnon in 1998, earning him the 2003 Nobel Prize in chemistry. The movement of ions through the cell membrane underlies many fundamental biological processes, including electrical signaling in the nervous system. The ion channel is the structure that enables specific ions to rapidly cross the cell membrane, building up a voltage difference between the inside and the outside of the cell. This prerequisite for the process of neuronal firing makes ion channels a fundamental element of our intellectual and emotional response to the world and our creative powers. KcsA is the very first ion channel structure that was determined to atomic resolution.
Quantum Man 2 (edition of four), 2007
Stainless steel, height 8'
Here on display at the West Edge Sculpture Exhibition on the harbor steps in downtown Seattle, WA
According to quantum physics, the world is fundamentally quite different than it seems. For example, matter can be demonstrated to have a wave-like quality associated with its motion. Quantum physics describes a moving object as consisting of waves oriented perpendicular to its direction of motion. Drawing inspiration from that aspect of nature, artist and former quantum physicist Julian Voss-Andreae has created an image of a walking human as a quantum object. Made up of thin, vertically oriented steel sheets representing those waves, the 8’ (2.50 m) tall sculpture is a metaphor for the counter-intuitive world of quantum physics. Symbolizing the dual nature of matter with the appearance of classical reality on the surface and cloudy quantum behavior underneath, the sculpture seems to consist of solid steel when seen from the front, but dissolves into almost nothing when seen from the side. An earlier version of the piece on display was featured in "Science Magazine" (Vol. 313, August 18, 2006, p. 913), one of the world’s leading science journals.
Cycloviolacin, 2007
Powder-coated steel
30" x 34" x 24" (76 cm x 86 cm x 61 cm)
Photo: Dan Kvitka
This sculpture was based on a cyclic protein from an Australian native violet.
El Paseo Invitational Exhibition, Palm Desert, CA.
Lake Oswego "Gallery Without Walls". Invitational.
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India. Curated by Madhusudan W. Pandit. Invitational.
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland. Curated by Vivienne B. Gerritsen. Invitational.
Onda Gallery, Lake Oswego, OR.
Big Rock Garden Sculpture Exhibition (Bellingham, WA).
Steel Jellyfish (Green Fluorescent Protein), 2006
Stainless steel, height 55" (1.40 m)
"Steel Jellyfish (Green Fluorescent Protein)" (2006) is where it really wants to be, at the Friday Harbor Labs, the University of Washington's marine lab on San Juan Island, Washington. GFP was discovered there by Shimomura in 1962, after having "processed" 1,000,000 jellyfish.
"Protein Sculptures for the People", AWIS Magazine (Spring 2008) .pdf (500 KB)
"The crucible: Art inspired by science should be more than just a pretty picture", Chemistry World (March 2008) .pdf (700 KB)
"The Dog, the Scientist, and the Frisbee" (interview), Sculptural Pursuit (Spring 2008) .pdf (7 MB)
"Изваяние невидимого" (Invisible Monuments, in Russian), Computerra (December 5) .pdf version
"Escultor de proteínas" (in Spanish), El Pais (September 19) .pdf version
"Sculpture show takes steps in right direction", Seattle Times (July 27) .html version .jpg version
"Wanderer zwischen den Welten" (in German), Stahlreport (July issue) .pdf version
"Physik lässt einen nicht einfach los" (interview, in German), Physik Journal (June issue) .pdf version
"Sculpture voters take a 'Quantum' leap", Columbia Basin Herald (June 13) .html version
"Julian Voss-Andreae, Protein Sculptor" (interview), Protein Data Bank Newsletter (No. 32, Winter 2007) .html version .pdf version (see pp. 9-11)
"Der Quantenmann ist 2,50m groß" (in German), No Comment weblog by Julia Petschinka (November 7)
"Once a physicist: Julian Voss-Andreae" Physics World (November issue)
"Dual Nature" , Science Magazine, August 11. For more photos of "Quantum Man" (2006) click here
Quantum Man 2 (2007), Maryhill Museum of Art (Goldendale, WA) map Read story
Quantum Man (2006), City of Moses Lake (Moses Lake, Washington) Read story
Alpha Helix for Linus Pauling (2004) is installed in front of two-time Nobel Prize winner and Portlander Linus Pauling's childhood home (3945 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR) map View movie
