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.
