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Bridge to the Cosmos – Big Bang (the Painting and the Theory) Explained – Live Virtual Lecture by Dr. Ata Sarajedini
July 7, 2021 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Free with paid museum admission
Morikami Museum’s Curator of Japanese Art, Carla Stansifer, will co-host an interactive live virtual lecture with Dr. Ata Sarajedini, an award-winning astrophysicist and professor of astrophysics from Florida Atlantic University.
In conjunction with the museum’s latest exhibition, Painting Enlightenment: Experiencing Wisdom and Compassion through Art and Science, Dr. Sarajedini will explain the scientific perspective of the solo artist in the exhibition, Japanese painter Iwasaki Tsuneo (1917-2002).
Iwasaki was a biologist by trade and brought his unique experiences and systematic perspective to his compositions, which he created as part of his Buddhist devotional practice. Dr. Sarajedini will highlight the painting titled, Big Bang: E=MC 2 , to help better understand the deep connections between humans and the stars that Iwasaki conveyed through his artwork. Dr. Sarajedini will speak about the stars on Tanabata Day. Tanabata takes place in Japan every year, and pays homage to two star-crossed lovers, princess Orihime and prince Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair), who only see each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month (July 7).
About Dr. Ata Sarajedini
Before coming to Florida Atlantic University in 2017, Dr. Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., served as Associate Dean for Natural Sciences and Mathematics as well as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida. Before that, he was Associate Chair and Acting Chair of the Department of Astronomy. After receiving his Ph.D. in Astronomy at Yale in 1992, he spent seven years as a postdoctoral researcher and a Hubble Fellow at Kitt Peak National Observatory and San Francisco State University. Dr. Sarajedini spent two years at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT as an Assistant Professor before moving to the University of Florida in 2001. Dr. Sarajedini has over 500 publications, which have over 11,000 citations. Of these publications, over 200 have appeared in peer-reviewed literature.