On March 21, Lehigh will host the Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts Symposium, which will feature 20 presentations, performances, and discussions highlighting intersections among disciplines in social and natural sciences, health, education, engineering, and business with the arts.
Professor James F. Gilchrist will be among the faculty and students from across the university involved in the event. Gilchrist, Lehigh's Ruth H. and Sam Madrid Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, will be presenting on "Great Painters are Protorheologists: Designing the Flow of Paint." The talk will connect rheology, the study of the deformation and flow of matter, with the techniques used in art, especially paint used in impressionist masterpieces.
At the foundation of any artwork are the materials used and designed to create it, with most beholders focusing on the color used by painters to create art, says Gilchrist’s synopsis of the talk. “Beyond the chemistry that gives color, it is equally, if not more important, to design how the paint itself flows, mixes, segregates and dries. This is a visceral aspect of the work that only the artist experiences.”
To learn more about the symposium, which will take place at Lehigh University Art Galleries (LUAG) and nearby spaces in Zoellner Arts Center, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., read the full story on Lehigh News.
