BY: CAROLINE ROLF
Nathalie Miebach transforms weather patterns and climate change data into extraordinary pieces of art. First, she creates a vibrant sculpture based on the statistics and then translates it into musical score. The sculptures are the basis for her partnership with musicians of many different genres.
Her work focuses mainly on the connection between art and science and the visual delivery of scientific exploration. These include scientific interpretations related to meteorology, astronomy and ecology. Any of Miebach’s sculptures can simultaneously convey a piece of art and an auditory example of the data, demonstrating environmental change.
“By staying true to the numbers, these woven pieces tread an uneasy divide between functioning both as sculptures in space as well as instruments that could be used in the actual environment from which the data originates.”
– Nathalie Miebach
By incorporating everyday materials into her artistic process, Miebach pushes the boundaries of traditional data visualization. She forces the audience to rethink what visual representation is considered to be in the realm of science and art.
The Ghostly Crew of the Andrea Gail
She’s Coming on Strong
The sculptor mainly uses a basket-weaving technique among other materials to reflect the statistics in a three-dimensional space. The use of reeds helps Miebach to form a specific shape within the constraints of a basket grid. The slow process of basket-weaving is essential to answer the questions her work demands, which could not be realized at a faster pace.
Each sculpture maps the weather-related landscape of a specific moment in time and becomes a complete musical score to be interpreted and performed by musicians on a variety of instruments, ranging from a string quartet to French horn. A handful of these tracks are available for listening and download from Miebach’s portfolio.
Miebach is able to accomplish the near impossible – she uses the outlet of visual artistry to explain science with such a unique perspective that an entirely new understanding is created. Her sculptures explore the worlds of art and science with equal parts creativity and discipline. The outcome? Art is made more logical and science becomes less reserved.
Image sourcing: nathaliemiebach.com, pnas.org, techedon.com, bostoncyberarts.org, kunstnetz-international.de
