Queensland Branch
Physicist in The Gallery: Physics, Art & Jewellery
Margaret Wegener
How are art objects made? – What is the physics that makes art work? Looking at art as a physicist can give you even greater appreciation of a piece of art. Optics, the properties of materials, the action of forces, can all shape an artwork. Science comes into how in practice you go about making art, it influences design, and gives something to make art with (including lab junk!) Conservators care for and carry out investigations into artworks using physics.
Dr Margaret Wegener is a lecturer in Physics at the University of Queensland. She is deeply interested in the interrelationships between science and the arts. An art gallery exhibit inspired curiosity about holograms. This culminated in a PhD making and analysing holograms to investigate gases moving at supersonic speeds, and she maintains a scientific interest in laser techniques. She has been creating precious-metal jewellery for over a decade. While metalworking is essentially a hobby, she does complete private commissions. Recently scientific and creative work came together in a project exploring how titanium can be joined and patterned with lasers to make jewellery.
11:45am Thursday 22nd April
Lourdes Hill College, Hawthorne
Contact: Mark Young All welcome, especially girls in years 10 - 12.
