E A +S P: Xploring RT Cience Rojects

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EXPLORING ART+SCIENCE PROJECTS

Ariel Kupfer (artist). Email: <arielkupfer@free.fr>.
See <www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/leon/49/3> for supplemental files
associated with this issue.
Submitted: 17 March 2014
Abstract
The author describes his recent projects in collaboration with
scientists from the Ecole des Mines (MINES ParisTech—Centre
des Matériaux). Lava Coins (2007–2009) develops a dialogue
between the material and the immaterial, the natural and the indus-
trial, external aspects and internal structure. Glass Microskeletons
(2010–2012) explores the creative process through the optics of Fig. 2. Copper on lava; photo H: 400-µm scanning electron
glass. Unicellular algae (diatoms) build their exoskeletons in silica micrograph (SEM), C2P, 2007. (© MINES ParisTech/C2P,
through a process of biomineralization. The result is a recording
of microscopic architectures in optical glass, making visible their Evry, France)
invisible forms and documenting in objects a voyage through the
intimacies of silica.
Researchers showed interest in the idea because this had not
The poetics of minerals is the matter of my work. By revealing yet been tried, and they wondered what would result from it.
the intimacies of a hidden world, I create objects that awake This unusual meeting of metal and stone stimulated further
curiosity. Transforming matter involves both physics and met- scientific research at C2P. The association of such dissimilar
aphysics in such a way that I perceive no distinction. A sub- materials is a major concern in the science of materials, espe-
stance cannot be separated from its force, nor can a material be cially as it relates to the study of prominent issues such as
separated from its metaphors. This may explain why we use bonding mechanisms and interface phenomena and properties
chemical processes to name psychological ones: crystalliza- (Fig. 2)
tion, dissolution, condensation, sublimation. After a year of tests, we were able to achieve simple lens-
By conceiving minerals, plants and animals as all belonging like, lava-coated forms that I call lava coins. The metal powder
to the same realm, we can explore transversal relationships. I melts as it is sprayed onto the porous lava. We then slightly
understand construction and art to be natural forces. polished it to enhance, by contrast, the structure of the stone
(Figs 3, 4).
Lava Coins:
Revealing Depth with Surface Techniques
While in Paris in 2007, I met Michel Jeandin, a research
professor at MINES ParisTech (formerly Ecole des Mines
de Paris). We immediately realized that we shared a com-
mon fascination for materials and their poetry. We have
collaborated on two different projects: Lava Coins and
Glass Microskeletons.
When I first visited the Competence Center for Spray Pro-

cessing (C2P) [1] at the Materials Research Center, I was in-
trigued by the plasma spray facility, a big capsule like a bank
safe containing a robot that sprays powdered metal (Fig. 1).
Sophisticated machine pieces were coated there. I thought
it would be interesting to use this technique for a different
purpose: I proposed to spray metal on volcanic lava rock,
which is both material and nonmaterial, being highly porous.
Fig. 3. Lava Coin; copper on lava, 9 cm diameter, 2008.

(© Ariel Kupfer. Photo: Tan Kadam.)
Fig. 1. Plasma spray facilities at the Competence Center for Fig. 4. Lava Coins; titanium, copper and aluminum on lava,
Spray Processing. (© MINES ParisTech, Evry, France) 3.4 cm diameter, 2008. (© Ariel Kupfer. Photo: Tan Kadam.)
272 LEONARDO, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 272–273, 2016 doi:10.1162/LEON_a_01100 ©2016 ISAST
statements
My intention was to go beyond the conventional use of this In this way, I hoped, physics and metaphysics entered into a
plasma technique. I used it to accentuate the inner structure of zone of indistinction. There is a coherent continuity between
a natural material (which, in lava stone, is already perceived on idea, technics and matter.
the outside) rather than just coating a mechanical part. What is It would not be possible to perceive the beauty of these tiny
the value of these lava coins where surface meets depth? skeletons without fine optical instruments. At the same time,
these forms, found in almost any water sample, have strongly
stimulated the development of microscopy. From optical lenses
Glass Microskeletons: to microskeletons, it is glass itself that is having a dialogue.
Optics of the Invisible through Silica A new collaboration with the researchers of the Centre des
Matériaux of MINES ParisTech made it possible to pursue the
Diatoms [2] have been haunting my imagination since I dis- Glass Microskeletons project, the realization of an old dream:
covered their existence in 2000. They are unicellular algae that to look through an electron microscope and take photographs,
synthesize silica in water and build sophisticated glass exo- to see what is normally invisible and document its traces.
skeletons, which appear to the naked eye as white dust. My experience in working with the researchers at the Centre
I began carving their forms in silver, and a few years later I des Matériaux has always been smooth, friendly and, in a col-
engraved them on copper plates. The results were interesting laboration that benefits both science and art, mutually respect-
but still too decorative. I then understood that diatoms need to ful. This exchange gave me the opportunity to develop the
be shown in their own material, glass. technological possibilities of my mineral research. It also
I therefore took photos of their skeletons with an electron allowed me to share a way of playing with materials and
microscope (Fig. 5) and engraved them via laser in glass metaphors that has no other purpose than learning through
blocks (Fig. 6). In this way, all the techniques involved in the creativity itself.
process were, like diatom shells, based on silica. These invisi- Working with diatoms drew me to the National Museum
ble architectures are revealed and documented in their pre- of Natural History in Paris, where I had the chance to meet
ferred material and through procedures the material has Pascal Jean Lopez, CNRS researcher on diatom biomineraliza-
inspired. tion and morphogenesis. This new collaboration fostered the
development of my Sand Books project, a work in progress
that involves bacterial biomineralization. Here, too, I intend
to follow the material’s own preferences, both technical and
metaphorical, in the hope of reconciling idea and matter.
References and Notes

1. Centre de Compétence en Procédés de Projection (C2P), Centre des
Matériaux de MINES ParisTech, Evry, France <www.mat.ensmp.fr/C2P>.
2. Diatoms are extremely abundant both in plankton and in sediments in marine
and freshwater ecosystems, and because they are photosynthetic they are an
important food source for marine organisms. Diatoms have an extensive fossil
record going back to the Cretaceous era; some rocks are formed almost entirely
of fossil diatoms and are known as diatomite or diatomaceous earth. These
deposits are mined commercially as abrasives and filtering aids. Analysis of
fossil diatom assemblages may also provide important information on past
environmental conditions.
Fig. 5. Diatom Silica Exoskeleton, SEM photo, MINES

ParisTech/C2P, Evry, France, 2011. (© Ariel Kupfer)
Fig. 6. Glass Microskeleton, optic glass, 18 × 24 × 3.5 cm, 2012.

(© Ariel Kupfer. Photo: Diego Ferrari.)
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statements

EXPLORING ART+SCIENCE PROJECTS

When I first visited the Competence Center for Spray Pro-

Fig. 3. Lava Coin; copper on lava, 9 cm diameter, 2008.

References and Notes

Fig. 5. Diatom Silica Exoskeleton, SEM photo, MINES

Fig. 6. Glass Microskeleton, optic glass, 18 × 24 × 3.5 cm, 2012.

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