My muse is the sphingosine kinase
March 30, 2017 9:00 PM Subscribe
I am an abstract artist. For a regional collaboration event, I'm paired with a research scientist and am to make a few paintings based on her work. My researcher does computer modeling of proposed pharmaceuticals, namely those that work on the sphingosine kinase 2. I have some good work so far but am struggling finding ideas for more. More inside.
I should mention that all the art done for this thing will be on exhibit and for sale and there will be a reception. While I'm not doing this for the money, I don't want to make art that nobody would want to own.
Because my researcher does computer modeling, she doesn't work with any samples from life or anything like that. It's all just computer generated diagrams, most of which don't have enough activity to inspire me. I have made a pretty neat watercolor based on the one diagram that has stuff going on.
For my other pieces, my plans haven't been working. I found some images of the kinase that were done using immunofluorescence and made several attempts at art based on them. The pictures just didn't look very good. I've tried taking images and just rendering a small portion of them. I've taken images and blurred them in a photo editor to further abstract them.
But I'm still not having success, and the deadline is fast approaching. I would love some tips from artist types and biology types alike. Whether you can suggest related keywords or point me to related images or just suggest new artistic approaches/techniques, I'm glad for your help.
If you have questions about the scientific stuff, I'll try to answer, but I don't understand this all myself.
Finally I wanted to add that I usually work in watercolor or alcohol ink. I'm open to acrylics and collage too.
I should mention that all the art done for this thing will be on exhibit and for sale and there will be a reception. While I'm not doing this for the money, I don't want to make art that nobody would want to own.
Because my researcher does computer modeling, she doesn't work with any samples from life or anything like that. It's all just computer generated diagrams, most of which don't have enough activity to inspire me. I have made a pretty neat watercolor based on the one diagram that has stuff going on.
For my other pieces, my plans haven't been working. I found some images of the kinase that were done using immunofluorescence and made several attempts at art based on them. The pictures just didn't look very good. I've tried taking images and just rendering a small portion of them. I've taken images and blurred them in a photo editor to further abstract them.
But I'm still not having success, and the deadline is fast approaching. I would love some tips from artist types and biology types alike. Whether you can suggest related keywords or point me to related images or just suggest new artistic approaches/techniques, I'm glad for your help.
If you have questions about the scientific stuff, I'll try to answer, but I don't understand this all myself.
Finally I wanted to add that I usually work in watercolor or alcohol ink. I'm open to acrylics and collage too.
Best answer: I'm a molecular biologist and I have to agree that this is a tough one. How literal do you need the art to be to meet the tems of the agreement? SK is a signaling molecule. It's all about communication and sending messages. No, strike that. It's all about facilitating the multiplication of messages. It takes in a message and causes distribution of the information to multiple sources. Could that provide any inspiration?
posted by Knowyournuts at 10:38 PM on March 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Knowyournuts at 10:38 PM on March 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: I don't have to be literal at all, just inspired by her work. I didn't know that about signaling. That's a cool angle to consider. Thanks!
posted by mermaidcafe at 3:56 AM on March 31, 2017
posted by mermaidcafe at 3:56 AM on March 31, 2017
Do you have a chance to talk to her or her colleagues in the lab? People who think all day long about a particular system will usually have multiple analogies for different parts of the system. Maybe that would spark some ideas.
posted by BrashTech at 4:04 AM on March 31, 2017
posted by BrashTech at 4:04 AM on March 31, 2017
Best answer: Not sure what you mean by computer generated diagrams - have you seen models of its crystal structure? I think those often look pretty cool and are quite abstract already!
I can't give you a link right now but google image searching for "sphingosine kinase 2 crystal structure" gives you a bunch of them.
posted by randomnity at 5:42 AM on March 31, 2017
I can't give you a link right now but google image searching for "sphingosine kinase 2 crystal structure" gives you a bunch of them.
posted by randomnity at 5:42 AM on March 31, 2017
Can you show us any of the images you're using?
posted by actionpotential at 8:58 AM on March 31, 2017
posted by actionpotential at 8:58 AM on March 31, 2017
Check out the work of Bonnie Ashmore-Davis. She was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer about 5 years ago, and she now creates abstract paintings inspired by the chemical structure of Herceptin and other drugs she received during treatment. More links: 1, 2, 3
posted by acridrabbit at 10:07 AM on March 31, 2017
posted by acridrabbit at 10:07 AM on March 31, 2017
Response by poster: Sure, here are the three images I've been using.
I think I'm finished with pieces inspired by two of them, but I'm not crazy about one of those.
randomnity mentioned the crystal structure. I like this one and am thinking out a good way to use it.
posted by mermaidcafe at 1:49 PM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think I'm finished with pieces inspired by two of them, but I'm not crazy about one of those.
randomnity mentioned the crystal structure. I like this one and am thinking out a good way to use it.
posted by mermaidcafe at 1:49 PM on March 31, 2017 [1 favorite]
Have you seen Bathsheba's work? Especially the laser crystals?
The hemoglobin cube is really a thing of beauty. I even wrote a poem about it.
posted by sindark at 8:46 PM on March 31, 2017
The hemoglobin cube is really a thing of beauty. I even wrote a poem about it.
posted by sindark at 8:46 PM on March 31, 2017
Here are some images for the sphingosine kinase pathway. I'll admit none of them look too inspiring artistically, but the point of drugs is that they inhibit the biochemical pathway that their target is part of. Talk to your scientist and ask her where her drugs act in these diagrams. Maybe you can come up with some images for blocking / breaking / cutting a link or piece of machinery.
Sounds like a cool project - good luck!
posted by Quietgal at 10:18 AM on April 1, 2017
Sounds like a cool project - good luck!
posted by Quietgal at 10:18 AM on April 1, 2017
Another type of visual data that your scientist certainly has would be various types of spectra for sphingosine kinase and/or the drugs she's designing. (The spectrum gives information about the structure of the molecules, less directly than the crystal structure but also easier to acquire.)
Again, usually not beautiful in themselves but maybe you could use them as an element in your composition.
Examples:
UV/Vis spectrum
Mass spectrum
posted by Quietgal at 4:40 PM on April 1, 2017
Again, usually not beautiful in themselves but maybe you could use them as an element in your composition.
Examples:
UV/Vis spectrum
Mass spectrum
posted by Quietgal at 4:40 PM on April 1, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by GammaGoblin at 10:04 PM on March 30, 2017