This is an experiment. Which is perfect for what I do, which is: study the interconnected histories of art and alchemy, two disciplines that were continually discovering new means and methods of exploring the natural world. As part of the 2015 Getty Foundation’s “Doing Digital Art HIstory” initiative, this blog was created at George Mason University’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. I hope to share here pieces of my research, but also my research process. How does one move from art into alchemy? Well, whether it’s in the 17th century or yesterday, the answer is: very intuitively. Art and alchemy share a great deal in their materials, the questions they ask, and the ways they make claims to greatness, authenticity and authority. My background in studio art has informed my decisions (my desires, really) to focus on the way things are made, as much as the things themselves. So from art I came to alchemy, looking for the origins of color, oil, varnish, and etcher’s acid.

Anyway. Thanks for joining me. And if you have a moment, enjoy a fun look at a recent experiment I took part in, along with the laboratory team at Columbia University’s “Making and Knowing” Project:

Making and Knowing (Fake) Coral from ChemHeritage on Vimeo.

Source: Welcome to Baroquen!