Out of the Darkness, a year-long exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art, was part of Rutstein’s tenure as the 2018-19 Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding at the University of Georgia, an annual award given to leading global scholars and creative thinkers who conceive and produce ground breaking collaborative works with University of Georgia faculty.Rutstein’s collaboration with Regents Professor and microbiologist Mandy Joye included a joint expedition at sea to the Guaymas Basin in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, and a deep sea dive in the submersible Alvin to the ocean floor 2,200 meters below, funded by the National Science Foundation. In addition to two weeks of community engagement, Rutstein and Joye gave a joint plenary lecture at the 2018 A2RU conference on Art, Sustainability and the Environment to an audience of 50 research universities.
Joye and Rutstein’s collaborative work stems from the Ocean Memory Project where they met. Guaymas Basin serves as a lens to look through time, where ancient hydrothermal processes can be seen anew in a nascent spreading sea, embodying a form of ocean memory. Included in this exhibition is, Shimmer, a 64′ long modular steel sculptural installation with LED lights and motion sensors that creates trails of light in reaction to the movements of the viewer. The installation is comprised of undulating, hexagonal sculptural forms (inspired by hydrocarbon structures that form through chemical processes unique to this location), andprogrammable LED lights, which mimic bioluminescent patterns observed during their dive in the Sea of Cortez. Also on view is Progenitor, a 22′ tall painting installation inspired by sonar mapping data, unique hydrothermal vent processes and photo microscopy of bacteria from Guaymas Basin.
Multidisciplinary artist and Pew Fellow Rebecca Rutstein works at the intersection of art, science and technology. For over twenty years she has created painting, sculpture, interactive installation and pubic art inspired by geology and the natural world, and since 2015 has focused on collaborating with scientists exploring the deep sea. Rutstein is passionate about creating visual experiences that shed light on hidden and micro environments, forging a dialogue about stewardship in the face of climate change. She has been an artist-in-residence at locations around the world, including six expeditions at sea and two dives to the ocean floor in the Alvin submersible. Her collaborations have been funded by the National Science Foundation, Ocean Exploration Trust, Schmidt Ocean Institute and the National Academies of Science Keck Futures Initiative. Rutstein’s work can be found in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Georgia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Yale University.
Mandy Joye is an oceanographer, an educator, and an ocean explorer. She is a Regents’ Professor and holds the Athletic Association Distinguished Professorship in Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. She is an expert in microbial ecology and biogeochemistry and her work explores on hydrocarbon, trace gas, and nutrient dynamics in the context of environmental dynamics and climate change. She works in both blue water and near shore ocean environments. Her work is highly interdisciplinary, bridging the fields of analytical chemistry, microbiology, and geology. She is also deeply committed to science advocacy and science communication and collaborates with artists and writers to share ocean stories and facilitate ocean stewardship.