Letters to the Editor

The artist as mad scientist She is an intellectual and emotional storm. Her renowned public artworks are reshaping the ways we think about science. Activist, environmentalist and former rock promoter Natalie Jeremijenko turns the art world upside down. By Kevin Berger [2006-06-22]

• mixed feelings

  I have mixed feelings about Natalie J. You see, I really like conceptual art, at least reading about it. I don't think it holds up well as "art" per se, the thing I look to for inspiration and entertainment. But her ideas certainly sound cool in words, and I think she does have an unusual amount of creativity, and I hope she can draw attention to some of the causes she champions.

  However- When I was a post-doc at Carnegie Mellon a couple years ago (in electrical engineering), she came and gave a talk about her robot dogs. I remember leaving early, severely annoyed, for several reasons. First, she showed up barely in time to give the lecture, then proceeded to edit her powerpoint slides for 15 minutes (I'm not exagerating, I timed it) with the projector on, so everyone sat there bored, watching her move her slides into a different order. No apologies for starting late, or explanations of why she wasn't ready. It appeared to be a talk she had given the day before- she edited, in front of us, the name of the institution and date on the title slide.

  Finally, she finished her editing and began her talk. Let's just say, she had nothing to say. She would put up a slide, and ramble off the top of her head for a few seconds, or if she couldn't think of anything, she would play a video of one of her pieces (which at least was a little bit more interesting). But it was going nowhere, and finally I got up and left. I remember the next day, telling another post-doc in my lab about it, and how I thought bullshitting was apparently the skill most useful for getting grant money and/or a big salary (Natalie was just one example of several people we were discussing). I really couldn't believe this undisciplined person was a professor.

  If Natalie is reading this, I would like to say, please have some respect for your audiences (and the tax payers!). Being an eccentric/left brain type does not give you license to show up late and unprepared and waste everyone's time. I would never grant her money for her work.

  -- John Neumann
  Permalink Flag Thursday, June 22, 2006 03:22 PM
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