Lindsay Olson
Neutrinos II Art from Fermilab, 2016
velvet, linen, beads, metallic embroidery thread, wood acrylic 36"w x 40'h
Lindsay’s artistic practice grows out of an intense curiosity about the ways our society is supported by science and technology. She has worked as Fermi National Accelerator’s first artist in residence, with the CMS experiment at CERN, with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Field Museum, the University of Illinois and other laboratories. Lindsay uses her training as an artist to create artwork that helps the public appreciate the elegant necessity of physics research.
Lindsay Olson
Rhythmic Seas: Active Acoustics, 2020
Silk, embroidery with cotton threads, beads and collge 36" h x 72" w
We are visual creatures. But underwater, visibility falls off dramatically and the kinds of visual observations that biologists use to study terrestrial ecosystems are not practical. Studying what is happening under the ocean requires a different approach. Ocean Acoustics uses sound to listen in to what’s happening and collect data that illuminates life in the ocean. Land ecologists study landscape, geology and weather. Ocean acousticians study soundscapes. This project makes visible the invisible world of sound in the sea. I created densely embroidered silk panels that help describe what researchers are discovering. The artwork illustrates the largest daily migration of zooplankton, the sound enhancing SOFAR channel, phytoplankton and the dramatic vocalizations of marine life gathered by hydrophones. I drew inspiration from the work of the Swiss embroidery artist Lissy Funk and the work of textile artist Lenore Tawney
Lindsay Olson
Circular Sounds: Passive Acoustics by Lindsay Olson, 2020
Silk, cotton, beading and collage 36" x 36"
Lindsay’s artistic practice grows out of an intense curiosity about the ways our society is supported by science and technology. She has worked as Fermi National Accelerator’s first artist in residence, with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Field Museum, The Center for Acoustics Research and Education and other labs. Her current work grows out of a three-week research cruise with the RV Endeavor with scientists using acoustics to study the ocean soundscape. Lindsay taught textiles at Columbia College Chicago for over 20 years. When not visiting a lab or working in the studio, she can be found canoeing with her husband on one of Chicago’s many area waterways.