Water Street Studios presents their first solo exhibition this month, in which artist Meghan Moe Beitiks explores the acts and apparatuses of neutrino research and detection at the Fermilab particle physics and accelerator laboratory, employing interviews with physicists and perceptions of her own identity. Curated by Ross Stanton Jordan.
Artist Meghan Moe Beitiks interviewed four experimental physicists from Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory about their daily interactions with neutrinos, their own experiences of role and identity, and their perceptions of her as a person. The result is four different video installation “systems,” based on those interviews, the detectors, and the four possible identities of neutrinos.
Grounding the work is a conversation with David Galin, an author and researcher of the concept of ‘self.’ Within “Observations of Final States in Interactions,” Beitiks explores parallels between neutrinos and human concepts of self, the performance of science and scientific research, and what it means for us all to be mutually entangled. Neutrinos are on of the most ubiquitous subatomic particles. Beaming through the empty space in atoms, they are very difficult to detect, defined primarily by the particle they happen to bump into. There are three, possibly four (the fourth is theorized), types of neutrinos: Muon, Electron, Tau, and the elusive Sterile, or noninteracting, neutrino.
At Fermilab in Batavia, there are four large detectors build to examine neutrino oscillations and interactions: MINOS, MINERvA, NOvA, and MicroBooNE. Each detector looks at different aspects of neutrino interactions and identities: at the heart of the research lie some of the bigger questions for the universe. Why it is made up of matter, for instance. “Observations of Final States in Interactions” is exactly what its title suggests: a series of observations, a drawing of parallels between methods of inquiry, a look at systems of knowing and understanding. It seeks not to answer the profoundly large questions, but only to point out commonalities.
On January 24, Water Street Studios will hold a public opening reception from 4 to 8 p.m. for Observations of Final States in Interactions featuring artist Meghan Moe Beitiks. This contemporary art exhibit will run through March 8; gallery hours are 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday to Sunday.
Exhibit offerings:
ART101, a lecture explaining the artwork in the context of art history, will be held at 1PM on Sunday, February 1, at Water Street Studios.
An artist talk with Megan Moe Beitiks and curator Ross Jordan will be held at 3PM on Saturday, February 28, at Water Street Studios.
