Covers and art on display at MIT

I have an art display in MIT's infinite corridor during January. I am displaying the two covers I did for Trends in Cell Biology [link], along with some of the original watercolors and a blurb about the process.

The display is in the main infinite corridor, very close to MIT's main entrance at 77 Massachusetts Avenue (Lobby 7, the bright lobby in the photo). After entering at 77 Mass Ave, continue walking into the main corridor. The display is to the right.


Below are the blurbs I used:

Atomic force microscopy techniques, or AFM, allow scientists to observe and manipulate cell surfaces using a small probe tip. This conjured an image of a scientist kneeling on a cell surface and prodding things, which lead to this cover. Graphite, watercolor and gouache were used.

Many thanks to MIT graduate students, who assisted by donning lab gear and crouching in the hallways while I took reference photos.



Protein molecules are transported through the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane by translocation channels. I read as far as “protein transportation” in the abstract, then put it down and drew the cover. (I did do other research, but the basic design was very fast.)

Pen and watercolor were used to finish these illustrations. Both covers were digitally edited with Corel Painter.

Multiplying post-docs

Some photos from work.

Watercolors at MIT and "Consent" film (I worked on) showing in NYC

Some of my watercolors and comics are on display at MIT's Infinite Corridoor this summer, including the large cover illustration for the recent "Mark and the Gillys". You can see the display by going to the main entrace of MIT (77 Massachusetts Ave) and walking into the long corridoor. The display will shortly be on the left.


Also, if you are in NYC Wednesday night - "Consent" will be playing at VisionFest (Tribeca Cinemas). I was an art department production assistant on this film, three years ago, when I graduated as a film major and went to NYC. I was living out of a backpack in Manhattan and working on film sets... interesting times....

CONSENT NYC Premiere at VisionFest:

Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Time: 7:30PM

Place: Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street, one block below Canal Street on the corner of Laight Street)

Festival Site: www.visionfest.com

Tickets: http://tinyurl.com/CONSENTtickets

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SElNF4RtqA

http://www.visionfest.com/film_festival/films/2010/

If you watch the trailer -- see that medicine cabinet? (0:58 - 1:01 ish.) That was all me and Adrianna G. (art director) remodeling the same cabinet for the separate shots, and rearranging the stuff in there. Also that gravestone (1:34), that's us; we didn't buy a gravestone, though, we just added things to someone else's gravestone.

Also, 0:33 to 0:38... that dramatic circling effect is what I allude to in the cartoons "Movie watching part 1 and 2"

That clip actually does the effect more subtly then "Forbidden Kingdom," which is what I was making fun of. Regardless, watching a crew shoot this kind of scene looks pretty wacky (something about the camera whirling around and around) and I have never quite been able to watch a "dramatically circling shot" in a movie without thinking of how silly the set-up must have looked.

(Actually, on the whole, I was not able to really watch movies for a while after film school and working on sets. It is only now that I can finally watch general mainstream movies and somewhat enjoy myself.)

Kresge show photos

Photos from a one-day show at Kresge (as part of an event at MIT).


Pictured: illustration for cover of "Mark and the Gillys" comic and excerpt (left), as well as a series of watercolor studies I did (right).



That person above (bending over to look) came back later, and continued to stare at the presented works. Finally, I made some sort of comment to him about how he seemed to be intensely peering at the pictures and comic.

"Yes," he said. "They're so weird."

Maybe I should have told him that I painted them.




(Below: posing at the show)

News: I'm on a lake and it's frozen!

The lake has frozen!
There are people playing hockey and skating on it.

I go out to the middle of the lake and eat lunch.


Then I hang out with some gulls.




Then apparently I dance around.



Later, I go trekking across the lake again. (This time with the power of crampons.)




On other news, I have a mini art show in MIT's Infinite Corridor this month (during MIT's January Independent Activities Period). One of the glass display cases holds a few of my watercolor sketches and comics pages. The comics including pages from the 24 hour comics last October, printed copies of the cow comic for Inbound 4, and a page from "Sights and Smells from MIT" (a minicomic).

The display is near MIT's main entrance at 77 Massachusetts Ave (Building 7). Tim Fish and other MIT staff/affiliates also have work in the display cases.

MIT, Show Opening, Boston Bazaar photos

Thursday at MIT's Craft Fair, Dan and I find that our table is in a strange corner of Stata Center. While it makes for an interesting photo, foot traffic was low.

We decide to make a sign that clearly states what we are selling.



Friday, we get a better location, near the center of Stata.


We also take advantage of the blackboard behind the table.

Below: more Stata shots. It was a bit slow overall, but it was interesting to interact with students and people at MIT.





It was fun when people came over, eyes wide and arms open in curiosity, asking out loud -- "Comics?" I had a good time chatting with people.

At one point, two gentlemen looked interested in the comics and came over, while continuing to discuss something. They kept up the discussion (about the recent climatology scandal?) at the table for about 10 minutes, before they finally started browsing.

I had a new minicomic for this shows, a series of cartoons about things I'd seen at MIT. One of the gentlemen was very critical of this minicomic, particularly on one cartoon about how I watched students electrocuting a pickle in the hallway. I had to explain it was a real experiment that Prof. Bulovic occasionally performed for people, which his grad students were replicating.

I also sold the minicomic to researchers who had come into Boston for the Materials Research Society meeting that week, as well as to many other people.



Saturday -- reception for Inbound 4's debut and the corresponding art show at Atomic Bean Cafe!





Sunday --- Boston Bazaar Bizarre!

Above: someone looking at my minicomic... with a suspicious expression?

Above: people looking at my "Bored Angel" book.

Eric B, who organized the table at this event.

Obama at MIT

Mini update: forgot to mention, but I'll be at the Boston Comicon today (Back Bay events center, click for map) and at the Comics Guild meet and greet this evening.


===
So I was given the day off today, because Mr. Barack Obama visited MIT.

Specifically, he toured some labs before giving a speech at Kresge Auditorium. One of the buildings he toured is where I work, so the building was locked down Thursday night and opened up Friday afternoon. (Before the lockdown, of course, the building got very spruced up and sparkling... see previous journal entry)

Having given the day off, what did I do?

I went back to where I work around noon, to watch President Obama's visit.

Some photos of the event.

Click and zoom in, you can see someone smiling, in the middle of the crowd.

Despite all the craning of necks, the president was transported around in a black limo and all. We all saw the lines of limos, but I didn't see the president himself. ( * However, my sister did meet him, last Tuesday.... see later in the blog.)

Still, the crowd was interesting to look at.



Some fliers informing people about Low Energy Nuclear Reactions, also known as Cold Fusion. (click for LENR.org, the site with papers and information about this alternate energy source.)













Above: one of the live broadcasts shown around campus. This one was in Lobby 7. People watching, below.


Seemed like a good speech about renewable energy. Read the Transcript here.

In the intro, President Obama applauded MIT, adding at one point, "And I'll probably be here for a while... I understand a bunch of engineering students put my motorcade on top of Building 10." Youtube link

(More info here on the hack this refers to.)



And speaking of President Obama ---

(She said she was already putting this Proof photo up on the internet.)

Here's my sister Naomi meeting with President Obama last Tuesday. My sister organizes a lot of healthcare rallies in New York City.

President Obama is visiting where I work

I was wondering why there were groups of men in black suits walking around the hallways, earlier this week. And now I know.

President Obama is visiting where I work and giving a speech on clean energy. (Link to article in the Tech) He is also visiting some labs . . . hence why the floor (where I work) is being turned upside down. The labs are being thoroughly cleaned and tidied. Hallway walls and doors are being madly renovated and repainted.

The hallways are now very sparkly.

The president ought to visit more often.

Stuff I See at MIT

This week's topic: stuff I see at MIT.

In a nearby lab . . .


(This was sketched off-hours)


Stuff that's written on the blackboards in the hallways...



And for the next bit, you have to be a little familiar with the movie "Good Will Hunting". Basically, Matt Damon stars as Will Hunting, a troubled youth who is a genius at mathematics. The title character works as a janitor at MIT, where he goes around solving complex math problems left on hallway boards.

You can watch the big scene here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7b0cLn-wHU

Or watch the first 30 seconds of this clip to get the idea.




(By the way, why so many people are all madly dashing across that particular lawn is beyond me. The lawn is not anywhere near a major parking lot or T station; you have to kind of go out of your way to end up running across the lawn like that. Unless you illegally parked on the Mass Ave bridge... or just crawled out of the Charles River, and ran across four lanes of traffic...)


Anway, to go on a tangent, here's how mathematicians reacted to the movie:




And here's how MIT reacted to the movie.
(Photos taken a few weeks ago.)



Some close-ups.


To the right of this, someone else wrote:




And, finally . . .

Well... first, MIT has a very commendable spirit of community, as this sign demonstrates. And it's true, people really do need to wash their hands, but -- okay I'm just going to show this poster.





The mouth.

Normally I don't give much mind to this sort of thing. But for weeks, every time I walk into a restroom, this.... weird mouth greeted me. This two-mouthed school mascot.

One day, it finally got to be too much. I had to do something.





And that about wraps things up for now.