"Carrie Paterson is an artist and writer whose work crosses interdisciplinary boundaries between the arts and sciences, and between object making, performance, drawing, research, invention, and text. Since 2002 she has been investigating the cultural and scientific discourses surrounding the exploration of outer space, and most recently, collaborating with scientists to visualize alternate models of evolution and sensory perception."
I met Carrie Paterson 12 years ago when we were both students in UC Irvine's MFA program, but after graduating, we lost touch, only bumping into each other in odd places and times, like in line to vote for local elections in Silverlake - twice! In 2008 I was mesmerized by her Copernican-inspired sculpture STRANGE ATTRACTOR, a nine-layer perfume bottle with original scents magically encased in concentric glass orbs. The scent "Kemmer" referenced Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction classic THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, which compelled me to reach out to Carrie. Since then we've become friends, engaging in hearty conversations on space, science, love, consciousness, magic, healing, tarot, games, comix, and why the heck art is so important. Visit cpworks.org/Strange_Attractor/index.html to see beautiful gallery images of her sculpture.
This video is part of a series of short portraits of artists in my life, tailor-made for my students at Bryn Mawr College as a way to teach community.