Collide@CERN: sharing inspiration

Late last year, Julius von Bismarck was appointed to be CERN's first "artist in residence" after winning the Collide@CERN Digital Arts award. He’ll be spending two months at CERN starting this March but, to get a flavour of what’s in store, he visited the Organization last week for a crash course in its inspiring activities.

 

Julius von Bismarck, taking a closer look...

When we arrive to interview German artist Julius von Bismarck, he’s being given a presentation about antiprotons’ ability to kill cancer cells. The whiteboard in the room contains graphs and equations that might easily send a non-scientist running, yet as Julius puts it, “if I weren’t interested, I’d be asleep”. Given his numerous questions, he must have been fascinated.

“This ‘introduction’ week has been exhilarating,” says Julius. “I’ve been able to interact with scientists in ways I had never considered possible – discussing their research, their experiences, and even their opinions on art. I’ve spent my entire visit writing down ideas, so I can only imagine what my actual residency is going to be like!”

Julius will use his two-month residency at CERN to create a work inspired by science. While not the first artist to seek inspiration from CERN’s scientific activities, he is taking a rather challenging and intriguing approach to his project: “I want to create something that is more than just an art work illustrating science, something that might inspire CERN scientists as much as I’ve been inspired by them.” Stay tuned.

by Katarina Anthony