Why AxS Podcast from ArtCenter: Dark Matter

Ready to go dark and get deep? In the third episode of the Why AxS podcast—where brilliant scientific and artistic minds ponder the important whys—we explore the infinite possibilities of the origins and nature of our universe.

Our guests couldn't be more disparate in their paths, yet conjoined in their pursuits.

Lita Albuquerque, an internationally renowned visual artist and ArtCenter faculty member, is inspired by the natural world, on this planet and beyond. Her works are intimate and epic, earthly and ephemeral—a celebration of how we connect to our environment, below and above.

Her large-scale installations—like Rock and Pigment, a series of rocks in the Mojave Desert in alignment to the stars overhead—connect human to celestial bodies, allowing us to feel what our minds can’t comprehend—that we’re a tiny speck suspended among billions of galaxies.

Dida Markovic, an astrophysicist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also studies the incomprehensible, specifically the dark sector of the universe.

Dark energy and dark matter govern 95% of all the gravitational interactions in the universe–yet, present a mystery to science.

Om Podcasten

Join us as we investigate the powers of art and science–and the extraordinary, unexpected outcomes when the two fields intersect. This four-part series features prominent artists and scientists tackling big ideas about dark matter and transcendence from right- and left-brain points of view. At ArtCenter, science and art often cross paths–after all, CalTech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are in our backyard, allowing for unique collaborations through programs, exhibitions, internships and more. With Why AxS, we invite you into insightful conversations with some of the brilliant minds in our orbit as they explore the many big why's that come with being a tiny part of this universe.