PARS, Hester Aardse and Astrid van Baalen

Findings on Elasticity

The second issue in the exciting and experimental cross-disciplinary series “Findings on…” by Astrid van Baalen and Hester Aardse from PARS is centred on Elasticity in the broadest sense of the word. What happens when one gives a simple rubber band to an architect, historian, choreographer, chemist, artist, mathematician, physicist, economist, anthropologist, and geologist and asks each of them for a statement on elasticity? The economist studies the elasticity of supply and demand of market forces. The architect calculates the elasticity of the steel structure of a building during an earthquake. The anthropologist studies the flow of people returning to their homes in the wake of a natural disaster. PARS draws researchers out of their specialized niches in order to publish their brilliant, crazy, important, or bewildering results and assembles them in this interdisciplinary volume. “Findings on Elasticity” is the second part of a publication series that together will constitute an atlas of creative thinking. There are no guidelines for the form their contributions must take. It may be images, poems, essays, sketches on coasters, formulas or a piece of sculpture; the editors only ask that a contribution reflect the respondent’s own field as well as his or her passion for the topic.

The second issue in the exciting and experimental cross-disciplinary series “Findings on…” by Astrid van Baalen and Hester Aardse from PARS is centred on Elasticity in the broadest sense of the word. What happens when one gives a simple rubber band to an architect, historian, choreographer, chemist, artist, mathematician, physicist, economist, anthropologist, and geologist and asks each of them for a statement on elasticity? The economist studies the elasticity of supply and demand of market forces. The architect calculates the elasticity of the steel structure of a building during an earthquake. The anthropologist studies the flow of people returning to their homes in the wake of a natural disaster. PARS draws researchers out of their specialized niches in order to publish their brilliant, crazy, important, or bewildering results and assembles them in this interdisciplinary volume. “Findings on Elasticity” is the second part of a publication series that together will constitute an atlas of creative thinking. There are no guidelines for the form their contributions must take. It may be images, poems, essays, sketches on coasters, formulas or a piece of sculpture; the editors only ask that a contribution reflect the respondent’s own field as well as his or her passion for the topic.

This volume is part of the Atlas of Creative Thinking

Edited by PARS, Hester Aardse and Astrid van Baalen

Design: studio Joost Grootens

20 x 27 cm, 7 ¾ x 10 ¾ in

208 pages, 70 illustrations

paperback

2010, 978-3-03778-148-7, English
CHF 35.00

Hester Aardse

Hester Aardse is an art historian specialised in the redevelopment of industrial sites and urban planning. Together with Astrid Alben (née van Baalen), she founded the arts and science initiative PARS at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten from 2006-2008. PARS invites artists and scientists to share their most beautiful and mind-boggling thoughts and research around particular topics. These got published in the "Findings on.." publication series and were shared at events that are a mixture of art, theatre and scientific experiments.

Astrid Alben

Astrid Alben (neé van Baalen) is a poet and editor. Together with Hester Aardse, she founded the arts and science initiative PARS at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten from 2006-2008. PARS invites artists and scientists to share their most beautiful and mind-boggling thoughts and research around particular topics. These got published in the "Findings on.." publication series and were shared at events that are a mixture of art, theatre and scientific experiments. Astrid Alben's publications include Ai! Ai! Pianissimo (2011), Plainspeak (2019), Klein dood konijn (2021), Dead Little Rabbit (forthcoming 2022) and the Atlas of Creative Thinking (Findings on Ice, Findings on Elasticity, Findings on Light).