Often the sciences and arts are seen as opposing forces.
However, Kayla Blundell set out to use art as a medium to explain scientific phenomena while working under Juie Shetye’s research team.
The sculpture, Eclipse, was created as a visual representation of a solar eclipse meant to help others better understand its innerworkings. The piece was inspired by her Blundell’s observations at the Dunn Telescope, using refracted sunlight to emulate the light and shadow play that takes place during an eclipse.
Blundell, who at the time was a fine arts student at New Mexico State University, got involved in the project after receiving an email through the Art Department at NMSU asking for art students to join Shetye’s team and create an artistic interpretation of the solar eclipse.
Coming onto the project, Blundell had little involvement in the astronomy field, but stated she always had an interest in it.
To accurately make the sculpture on it, she first needed to understand the science behind the eclipse. Which led her to attending some of Shetye’s classes and traveling with her research team to various observatories.
“I've always been interested in astronomy,” Blundell said. “So, I really enjoyed learning throughout the whole semester. I was working on the ballooning aspect of it, and I got to participate in the science side of it and attended weekly classes with Dr. Shetye that she gave on the project.”
During the creation process, Blundell explained it was important to ensure people across age groups could understand the science behind the sculpture. She discussed how she was constantly running the project with her co-workers, husband, and children.
“I have a husband, so I always see what he thinks of an idea too, because he actually has a degree in science, not astronomy, but he thinks more like a scientist,” Blundell said. “I would talk to him about it, and my kids, I have kids, and [I’d] see what they thought. What do they understand from this? And try to gage; am I doing a good job for most ages?”
The sculpture is meant to depict multiple aspects of the solar eclipse.
One of the most notable features of the sculpture is the multicolored vinal pieces cascading of the light source, made to show the light of the sun is not white, rather than a variety of colors.
“[My favorite part] would be how the light reflects off of the acrylic shapes that hang down, and then off of the moon. Then how the moon is blocking the light coming down on it, onto the stand, so there's like a circle of darkness below it, like you would see in the Eclipse. Then the light that's being reflected off of it, and it reflects around the room, too.”
The moon at the bottom of the sculpture shows the role shadows play during an eclipse and uses natural light to make the point. When looked at through a bird’s eye view, as light comes into the gallery the model moon begins to block the light similar to how the moon functions in real life.
Blundell even depicted the solar atmosphere in her work by creating small vinals in the image of the sun during different solar phenomenon which helps viewers understand the sun’s photosphere.
Her work is being displayed at the Solar Observatory Visitors Center in Sunspot, NM.
