Stephen H. Kawai, who is currently exhibiting his chemistry-inspired mobiles at Visual Voice Gallery, published an article in the Leonardo Journal of Art, Sciences and Technology titled Mobiles, Molecules and the Coalescence of Process.

The article is available for download in pdf format here.

Abstract

The author provides an account of his development and experiences as both a visual (mobile) artist and a chemist. He describes the surprising similarities between the planning of the construction of a mobile and the execution of retrosynthetic analysis used to chemically create a particular molecule. The fusion of these two independently initiated mental processes into a common creative act can be referred to as a coalescence of processes. The present article discusses the consequences of this merging for both artistic and scientific practices, as well as its relevance to the artscience concept of idea translation.

LEONARDO, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 30–35, 2013