CROSSING OVER: ART AND SCIENCE AT CALTECH, 1920–2020
Below is an excerpt from the Getty PST online introduction to the exhibition.
BY GETTY PST
2024
Left: Jane Brucker, "Gemini and the Heavens (Green/Gold)" (2024), Middle: Jane Brucker, "Time Pieces (Light Blue)" (2024), Right: Jane Brucker, "Dust Bottles + Archive Bottle (Dark Blue)" (2024), photography by Gene Ogami.
Crossing Over explores the rich imagery in the Institute’s historic collections and complements it with contemporary artworks. The exhibition unfolds across Caltech’s campus in six outdoor and indoor venues, some rarely seen by the general public. Three interconnected thematic sections—The Infinite Lawn, Time Stream, and Powers of Ten—take viewers from the “universe without” (stars, moons, planets, and galaxies) to the “universe within” (genes, molecules, atoms, and particles). These are accompanied by unique installations by critically-acclaimed artists.
Rare Astronomy Books and Jane Brucker, Magnetic Attraction
Crossing Over’s third site, Time Stream, displays rare books from Caltech’s collection, including first edition works by Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. It also features contemporary art engaged with similar themes, including Jane Brucker’s site-specific installation Magnetic Attraction, which offers an intimate engagement with art and science objects from her own collection and Caltech’s.
PST ART is an initiative of Getty with arts institutions across Southern California.