New Orleans Artist + Scientist Hunter Cole

Presents Multimedia Exhibit Showcasing Photographs of Bacteria that Create Their Own Light

Living Light: Photographs by Light of Bioluminescent Bacteria

October 5 – November 28, 2019

Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center (Theatre Lounge)

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Art and science come together in a mesmerizing new multimedia exhibit entitled Living Light: Photographs by Light of Bioluminescent Bacteria (Living Light), on display October 5 – November 28 in the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center theatre lounge (6621 St. Claude Ave). The exhibit is produced by New Orleans artist and Loyola University geneticist, Hunter Cole, who produces pieces that are inspired by science but literally live as art through the otherworldly glow of the bioluminescent bacterium Photobacterium phosphoreum. Cole is widely recognized among the innovators in the art/science genre and is one of the first artists to produce significant works using bioluminescent light. The unique solo show features photographs of human figures (portraits; dancers; installations) illuminated by a glowing blue light created by bioluminescent bacteria.

On Thursday, October 10 (6-10 pm), Cole’s photographs will come to life at the interactive event, GLOW: An Illuminated Living Art Experience (GLOW), transforming the Zeitgeist Theatre into a live, glowing, one-of-a-kind art experience. Guests will have the opportunity to walk into the darkened theatre illuminated by never-before-seen art created with actual, living bioluminescent bacteria and interact with dancers wearing “glowing art” costumes. Guests can also become living art themselves – Cole will photograph guests interacting with living light pieces throughout the evening, which will later be available for purchase as Hunter Cole originals on her website, www.huntercolephoto.com. The event is free and open to the public. (*Note: Professional photography/DSLR photography will be prohibited during this event. Media/photographer exceptions must be approved in-advance. Cell phone use is allowed).

To create her living art pieces, Cole first creates liquid cultures of bacteria and draws the bacteria into different shapes on Petri dishes using a paintbrush. Finally, she photographs the glowing petri dishes alongside her subjects to create modern works of provocative symbolism.

“Art and science have always been mutually inclusive for me,” says Cole, who has a PhD in genetics and teaches in the biology department at Loyola University New Orleans. “Science serves as a vehicle for expressing my creativity and artistry. Art serves as a motivation for me to interpret our living world.”

EVENT SUMMARY:

Living Light: Photographs by Light of Bioluminescent Bacteria

October 5 - November 28, 2019

Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center -- Lounge

Living Light will feature a survey of Cole’s bioluminescent art during the period 2005 to 2018, showcasing photographs of human figures (portraits; dancers; installations) illuminated by a glowing blue light created by bioluminescent bacteria. Cole creates liquid cultures of bacteria, then draws the bacteria into different shapes on Petri dishes using a paintbrush. Finally, she photographs the glowing petri dishes alongside her subjects to create modern works of provocative symbolism.

GLOW: An Illuminated Living Art Experience

Thursday, October 10, 6 - 10 pm

Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center – Theatre

*one-of-a-kind, interactive art experience*

Snacks + Cocktails available for purchase.

Guests will have the opportunity to walk into the darkened theatre illuminated by never-before-seen art created with actual, living bioluminescent bacteria and interact with dancers wearing “glowing art” costumes. Guests can also become living art themselves – throughout the evening, Cole will photograph guests interacting with living light, which will later be available for purchase as Hunter Cole originals on her website, www.huntercolephoto.com.

Cole’s art has been exhibited internationally in locations including New York, San Francisco, Chicago, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan and the Czech Republic. She has presented numerous seminars on art and science at locations including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), the American Museum of Natural History (New York), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dialogue Between Science and Art Workshop in Hluboka, Czech Republic and SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia.

Additionally, Hunter Cole co-authored, “Art and Genetics” with Joe Davis, Dana Boyd and Marek Wieczorek, published in the Encyclopedia of Life Sciences (ELS).  She has been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, including such publications as:  Science, The Scientist, the Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Muy Interesante (Spain), Le Monde, and Beaux Arts magazine (France).

In addition to her PhD, Hunter Cole holds a Master's degree in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of California-Berkeley.  During her time at the University of Wisconsin, Cole created a course entitled Biology Through Art.  The course provided opportunities for students to create art while working in a biology laboratory.  Cole also successfully implemented the Biology Through Art curriculum at Loyola University Chicago and an online version at Loyola University New Orleans.

For more information on Hunter Cole, please visit www.huntercole.org. To view or purchase a Hunter Cole original, visit www.huntercolephoto.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Emily Diament, APR

Diament Public Relations

emily@emilydiament.com

(225) 938-2694

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About Hunter Cole

Hunter Cole is an artist who combines drawing with photography using the medium of bioluminescent bacteria — bacteria which produces its own light. A New Orleans-based artist, Cole is known for her work, which reinterprets science through art. She has worked in various media including painting, drawing, digital media, video, music and sound, and multi-media installations. Cole holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of California-Berkeley. Currently, she is a professor in the Biology Department at Loyola University New Orleans, where she teaches a course in “Biology Through Art,” where students work to create art based on biological concepts. Visit her website at www.huntercole.org.