MSU: Power Up Artist-in-Residence program and What Happens When Nuclear Physics and Dance Collide
Arts MSU at Michigan State University and The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) have been collaborating, bringing art and science together with a Power Up Artist-in-Residence program resulting in cutting-edge artworks and exhibitions that push the boundaries of both disciplines.
Instead of seeing art and science as discreet entities, leadership at Michigan State University (MSU) are uniting the two into a powerful force that amplifies both. The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at MSU is a world-class research, teaching and training center, hosting the world’s most powerful rare isotope accelerator. Arts MSU — the campus-wide initiative that integrates arts into every student’s education — has several projects underway with the scientists utilizing this technology.
The inaugural Power Up Artist-in-Residence program embedded artist Abel Korinsky among scientists and students in an exchange of ideas resulting in a cutting-edge exhibition that pushes the boundaries of both disciplines.
MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist-in-Residency
ABOUT THE OPEN CALL AND RESIDENCY
The new MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist-in-Residency program aims to foster collaboration, exploration, experimentation and innovation, culminating in the creation of groundbreaking artworks at the intersection of art, science and technology. It provides a supportive environment for artists to create new artworks while engaging with the vibrant communities across MSU’s campus.
The inaugural call went out in August 2023 and invited visual artists of all backgrounds to immerse themselves in the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) laboratory environment, fostering a culture of innovation and boundary-pushing exploration. The theme for this year is nuclear astrophysics. Artists submitting to the international call were encouraged to propose interactive visual artworks that explore the societal or philosophical context of this important area of FRIB research.
Abel Korinsky was selected as the first artist-in-residence, as the representative of Studio Korinsky from Berlin, Germany. Korinsky spent an enriching three months on MSU’s beautiful campus in East Lansing embedded at FRIB, connecting with facility researchers and providing opportunities for scientists and the artist to learn from one another.
Arts MSU – Abel Korinsky: Whiteout
WHY FRIB?
FRIB at Michigan State University is a world-unique rare-isotope research facility that enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions and applications for society, including those in medicine, homeland security and industry. Rare isotopes are versions of elements with a combination of protons and neutrons that do not hold together forever. FRIB proudly supports a community of about 1,800 scientists from around the world and regularly collaborates with artists across disciplines.
As a global-leading research facility at MSU, FRIB was the ideal inaugural partner for this residency, and will consistently host one of the two artists-in-residence annually.
Abel Korinsky, MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist-in-Residence, tours experimental areas at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) to capture sounds and images for potential inclusion in his work.
ABOUT “MONUMENTUM’
The work created by Studio Korinsky during the residency, “monumentum,” rewrites the creation story in a monumental portrayal of humanity through an artistic lens, while capturing the current state of nuclear astrophysics. Korinsky’s interpretation is that human life began from supernova explosions and a neutron star that created elements — previously non-existent on Earth — which rained down on our planet, providing the genesis for life.
Though there are still unknown variables to the equation for this project, Studio Korinsky takes this interpretation as fact, and “monumentum” interprets the ways in which FRIB, hosting what is designed to be the most powerful rare-isotope accelerator, may be able to answer these questions. Using generative AI, the artist maps visual representations of the data into human forms.
Abel Korinsky, MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist-in-Residence (right), captures sounds and images at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) for potential use in the artwork he will produce. He is assisted by Patrick Taylor, a Spring 2024 Michigan State University graduate with an MFA from the Department of Art, Art History and Design.
During the final moments before uniting, the stars emit a scream-like frequency that is within the hearing range for humans — a remarkable happenstance. Alongside the AI visualizations are audio recordings Studio Korinsky has made of the accelerator to mimic the moment of the neutron star merger. While visitors experience the visual representations, they will be immersed in ambisonics spinning through the space creating an evocative spatialization.
Abel Korinsky returned to East Lansing in October 2024 to finalize and exhibit “monumentum.”
Abel Korinsky: Monumentum
Abel Korinsky: Monumentum
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Abel Korinsky is one half of Studio Korinsky, along with twin brother Carlo Korinsky. The two media artists conduct research into the reciprocal dynamics among sound, light and architecture, with a focus on how time-based media can be harnessed to create and transform the atmosphere of a space.
With their work at the intersection of science, technology and art, the majority of the brothers’ projects are developed and shaped by the integration of AI, motorization, robotics and coding, emphasizing a synthesis of artistic expression and technological innovation. This interdisciplinary approach is strongly connected to collaborations with professionals from diverse fields, including scientists from FRIB at MSU, a Korean marine research institution and mechanics, engineers and researchers from various disciplines.
In addition to the MSU Arts Power Up Residency, they were recipients of the S+T+ARTS ReSilence research and production grant of the European Union in 2024; cultural exchange stipends of the federal state of Germany in 2022; zer01ne Hyundai Motor Group Fellowship in 2022; stipend of the Musikfonds Berlin and BBK Association of Artists Berlin 2022/2023 among others. Studio Korinsky has presented artistic activities in museums, festivals and galleries internationally such as Ars Electronica (Austria), ISEA – International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art (Canada, France and the United Arab Emirates), Biennal Internacional d’Andorra (Andoera), Llum BCN (Spain), CerModern (Türkiye), zer01ne Hyundai Motor Group (Republic of Korea), Art & Tech Days / Košice (Slovakia), Centre for Fine Arts Brussels – Bozar, Brussels (Belgium) and Experimenta Recharge: 6th International Biennial of Media Art (Australia) among others.
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Artist-in-Residence: Violeta López López
The second MSUFCU Arts Power Up Artist-in-Residence, Violeta López López, of Spain spent three months during fall semester 2024 embedded in the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a world-unique rare-isotope research facility. From this experience, López López is creating an art installation called Physical Spells [The Wor(l)d in the Atom].
Physical Spells [The Wor(l)d in the Atom]
Dates: September 4, 2025 – December 13, 2025
Location: 311 Abbot
East Lansing, MI
48824
Quantum render (Image courtesy Violeta López López)
Looking at physics from the perspective of linguistics may sound like an act of black magic or the definitive detachment of reality, but, behind the invisibility cloak of particles, it is possible to find the secret verses where both intertwine their labyrinths. Physical Spells [The Wor(l)d in the Atom] explores unexpected ways of understanding physics as if it were language, leading to the discovery of its own linguistic layer. Phonetics arising from the voice of the experimental areas at FRIB where particles trace their routes, morphology revealed in the realm of quarks, syntax writing metaphors in the processes of metamorphose of isotopes. The exhibition proposes an interactive exploration of this world of words in the world of atoms, making the public a key element that activates the processes and dialogues with the artworks, delving into their own research.
Sephor (Image courtesy Violeta López López)
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Violeta López López is an antidisciplinary artist and musician working on the in-betweeness of fields with a multimedia approach that merges analog and digital, visuals, sound and words. Her work dives into the entanglement of materiality and virtuality, exploring connections between language, literature and science. At the core of her work lies a poetical perspective through which she intends to free languages from their established use, looking for new ways of expressing the identity of the world and its perception.
https://www.violetalopezlopez.com/index.html
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What Happens When Nucleur Physics and Dance Collide?
“Of Equal Place: Isotopes in Motion” was a dance performance that delved into the research being done at MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) and explores themes that resonate in both nuclear physics and dance: stability and instability, measurement, acceleration, fragmentation and navigating mystery. The project is a mass collaboration between FRIB, MSU’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts and Dance Exchange – a national company dedicated to expanding who gets to dance, where it happens and why it matters. The dancers included students, faculty, physicists, professional dancers and community members.
Arts MSU-Dance in STEM building
Arts MSU-Wharton Center-FRIB-Dance
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