Risa Horowitz

I saw Saturn through a telescope for the first time in spring 2010 and it brought me to tears. I became immediately aware of the real-ness of the planet, its simultaneous closeness and distance, and the incomprehensible scale of the universe. We are, for the most part, Earthbound, forgetting that we are hurtling through space, along with a multitude of other bodies also hurtling through space. Despite appearances it isn't the stars that we see move when we look up; it is us down here, on Earth.

I have become an amateur astronomer as part of my art practice. I want to nurture, across disciplines and media, our shared desire to know ourselves and be known. The project deals with themes of participatory science and data-visualization, and explores crossovers and distinctions between training that defines an expert and enthusiasm that defines an amateur.

Imaging Saturn (Modeling Views) is a selection of images and objects that depict what Saturn looks like throughout its orbit. The exhibition is not illustrative; the viewer does not need to know the science. Within the exhibition there are photographs, and there are some lines and circles that refer to the paths of the sun, stars, and Saturn. There are some apparently Modernist sculptures on the wall that swing back and forth. There is a kinetic sculpture that propels a model of Saturn around the gallery. And there is a video of that object in motion.

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download the poster and essay by Tom Kohut

click for larger version

click for larger version

Rings and Orbiter documentationvideo from Risa Horowitz on Vimeo.

Viewing Models - 10-minute looping HD video. from Risa Horowitz on Vimeo.

I acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

Je remercie le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L'an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l'art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays

I am very grateful for the assistance I have received on this project over the past three years. Rob Cruickshank, Ray Peterson, David Gerhard, and Jesse Goddard for their technical assistance; Geremy Lague, Simon Fuh, and Karlee Stein for their studio assistance; Melentie Pandilovski and PLATFORM for arranging the exhibition, Cliff and Pam Eyland for hosting me in Winnipeg over and over again, Erika Lincoln for some very important conversations about making art, and the University of Regina Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance, and Department of Visual Arts.