AVANT GARDEN: Dialogue on Entropy

In Dialogue on Entropy, Brian Korgel and James Sham unpack one of the lesser-understood scientific concepts: entropy. People experience the consequences of entropy all the time but have little understanding of it. Entropy has been explored to help understand things like the beginning and end states of the universe, the asymmetry of time, the information content of language and word use frequencies, the sustainability of capitalist world economies, human-induced environmental degradation, the proliferation of artificial intelligence, and as an explanation for the continual suffering and self-destruction of the individual over the course of one’s lifetime. If entropy is so important, why is it so difficult to comprehend?

This installation is presented alongside The Scribble Studies, an exhibition that shows the manifestation of a two-year collaborative process, embodying how researchers ideate, create, document, and present their findings using an anti-disciplinary approach. Together, these two exhibitions occupy the entire art space at Culture House. Tickets are not required to access the outdoor grounds, which are on view 24/7.

About the Artists

Brian A. Korgel is the Rashid Engineering Regents Chair Professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin (UT). He directs the UT Energy Institute, the Center for a Solar Powered Future (SPF2050)—an Industry/University Research Center (IUCRC) funded by the National Science Foundation—and the Emerging Technologies area of the UT|Portugal program. He is an Associate Editor of the journal, Chemistry of Materials.  He works at the intersection of nano & mesoscopic materials chemistry and complex fluids, tackling problems in energy storage, chemical transformations, energy harvesting and conversion, and medicine. He is also an artist with a courtesy appointment as a Professor in the Department of Art & Art History at UT, exploring collaboration, language, and human-artificial intelligence/robot cohabitation.  He has published more than 280 papers and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Alicante in Spain, the Université Josef Fourier in France, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.  He has co-founded two companies, Innovalight and Piñon Technologies, and received various honors, including the Professional Progress Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and election into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

James Sham is a fundamentalist artist who has radicalized Brian Korgel to the cause.