[Leonardo/ISAST Network] Special Section in Leonardo Journal on Nanotech and the Arts

[Leonardo/ISAST]

Special Section in Leonardo Journal on Nanotech and the Arts 
Nanotechnology, Nanoscale Science and Art
Guest Editors:  Tom Rockwell and Tami I. Spector

Over the last decade, "nano" has become a buzzword signifying 
everything from imagined atomic-scale robotic utopias to small 
electronics.  For scientists the shift toward nano has also become 
ubiquitous; what used to be referred to as molecular has been reframed 
as nano; 27 journals devoted to nanotech/nanoscience are now 
published; and the National Science Foundation and other granting 
agencies have devoted a significant amount of funding toward 
nanotech/nanoscience.  Among engineers, scientists and science-studies 
scholars, discussions of the potential of nanotech/nanoscience abound, 
including conferences that debate the pros and cons of a nano-hegemony 
and attempt to debunk some of the hype.  Artists, however, have only 
begun to explore this emergent scientific field, leaving it wide open 
for creative interpretation.  With this special section of Leonardo, 
we hope to ignite artists' interest in the exploration of 
nanotech/nanoscience and encourage scientists, scholars and educators 
to contemplate the implications of an art-nanotech/nanoscience connection.

Leonardo, in collaboration with the Exploratorium under the auspices 
of the Nanotech Informal Science Education Network, will publish a 
series of special sections periodically over the next 5 years 
exploring the intersections of nanotech/science and art.  We are 
especially seeking submissions of artworks (visual, performance, 
sound, etc.) with artist's statements explaining the relationship of 
the work to nanotech/science; essays from scientists, engineers and 
scholars exploring the connection between nanotech/science and art; 
and essays and visuals aiming at nanotech/science education that use 
the arts as a pedagogical tool.

Interested artists and authors are invited to send proposals, queries 
and/or manuscripts to the Leonardo editorial office at 
<leonardomanuscripts at gmail.com>.