GOOGLE QUANTUM AI
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Documentary: J.D. BRYNN / CINEDATA.
A documentary focused on stories of transformation and discovery, the Filmmaker in Residence illuminates the collective phases of the AiR program in succinct alignment with his mastery of capturing epic timelapse footage.
This piece of film is a visually stunning profile of the unique Artist in Residence program and build out of the quantum campus as can only been told by someone behind the camera.
DRAWEVERYWHERE is proud to present this documentary film
By J.D. BRYNN, Founder & Director of CINEDATA.
“Advanced technology labs are not places you're likely to find much creative artistic expression, let alone color. But a scientist and an artist have joined forces to help inspire the development of the next generation of computing at Google's Quantum A.I. lab.”
- Mike Cerre -
Special correspondent for PBS arts and culture series, Canvas, reports from Goleta, California.
Create spaces for Practice and Reflection.
Inspire the Common Conversation for Creative Permission.
We transformed a warehouse into a temple to amplify the culture of innovation in the quantum computing space
South High Bay Laboratory, Quantum AI
Photo credits: GOOGLE QUANTUM AI
“This is what the future of computing looks like.”
“It is within these walls that a team of research scientists, engineers, and artists work shoulder to shoulder to realize our mission to build an error corrected quantum computer for the world.”
- Dr. Erik Lucero -
Lead Production Quantum Hardware & Campus Site Lead
Google Quantum AI
"We often refer to this as a temple of technology…”
“We have an artist in resident program, so it's not only state of the art technologies that in these labs, but we try to make them very pleasant working environments conducive to creative work…"
- Dr. Hartmut Neven -
Founder and manager of the Google Quantum AI lab.
Vice President of Engineering at Google.
Portrait Illustration by: Forest Stearns
Google Quantum AI &
DRAWEVERYWHERE
Outcomes & Transformations:
ATTRACT an audience both inside and outside the field of the Quantum, by creating an award-winning workplace environment.
INSPIRE contemplation and wonder in the world-class Quantum laboratory with the production of bold artworks.
COLLABORATE directly with Quantum scientists to illuminate their unique scientific achievements.
ACTIVATE the culture of innovation with ongoing facilitated creative exchanges and curated Artist in Residence exhibitions.
The Artist in Residence program was founded to be the continuous vehicle to drive the detail-oriented artistic collaborations across the large-scale buildout of the GQ2 laboratory and expanded campus. Through multiple phases and a wide range of collaborators, the artist and the scientist dove into a creative partnership that interwove their collective passions, each bringing their professional knowledge and experience to the drawing board. The beautiful large-scale productions inspire the quantum mechanics within their state of the art working environment.
The ongoing experiential experiences connect the triad of science, art, and design in order to amplify the internal culture in real time.
The Artist in Residence process:
The artistic adventure.
It takes countless hours of conversations, study, and conceptualization, to successfully plan the production of the individual pieces and the overall experience. Each piece starts in a sketchbook through the indispensable practice of drawing. Hundreds of sketches are created as studies, working out the elements to dozens of possible compositions. This is where the dynamic choices are made, where the failures are leaned into, and where the energy of the overall pieces are conceived. It is the unseen coming of age of these final exhibited pieces, way before the artists gather supplies and climb the scaffolding. The magic is in the drawing.
Whether the huge pieces are produced shoulder to shoulder with the contributing scientists directly onto the walls within the institution or working solo in the artist’s studio, each piece has a story that is best told from sketches, through the time-lapse, to the final piece supporting the overall intention of the space.
The context of the Art / Science collaboration:
“To begin our journey,
we are unveiling our new Quantum AI campus in Santa Barbara, California, where the Quantum AI team engineers quantum systems from the qubit* level to the campus level. Our quantum laboratories have been designed to house the world’s first “beyond classical” quantum computer and it is within these walls that a team of research scientists, engineers, and artists work together to realize our mission to build an error corrected quantum computer for the world. This campus includes our first quantum data center, our quantum hardware research laboratories, and our own quantum processor chip fabrication facilities. *qubit is short for quantum bit, the fundamental building block of a quantum computer.”
- Dr. Erik Lucero - Google blog - Unveiling our new Quantum AI campus
Co-founders of the AiR program:
Dr. Erik Lucero of Google Quantum AI & Forest Stearns of DRAWEVERYWHERE
Lucero, brought on Stearns to be the Principal Artist responsible for transforming the warehouse into a bright and bold working environment. To meet this objective they co-founded an artist in residence program in 2018 and continue to work in an ongoing artistic collaboration. In lock step with visionary architects and world class fabricators, the goals of this creative collaboration transformed the warehouse into a bright and bold working environment. This group of creatives continue to collaborate and produce the Quantum AI Campus in Santa Barbara.
The valuable transformation:
South High Bay Laboratory, Quantum AI
Photo credits: GOOGLE
There is no edge between the Art, the Architecture, the scientific hardware, and the nature which is celebrated through the exterior windows and directly installed onto the Quantum Computers.
- Forest Stearns -
Principal Artist
DRAWEVERYWHERE
VADATALKS 2023
Three giant murals align with the expressive architecture:
Focal points of color & energy through the lab.
Celebration of nature through abstract expressionism; These productions span the viewer from zoomed-out macro views of legendary outdoor landscapes, juxtaposed with micro landscapes of electrons. These vibrant murals, illustrations, and sculptures are inspired by nature's language of quantum mechanics.
“Superposition”
(Mural 30x100’)
Upon entering the space, the architectural features of the vast room provide a natural vanishing point, aiming the viewer’s attention directly at this expansive piece. Stylistic color and bold line work reach across the banks of windows and the grey concrete surfaces, covering any three-dimensional utilitarian impediments protruding from the warehouse wall. Designed like large-scale stained windows, the interspersed fields of color painted across the glass, allow spectacularly colored sunlight to erupt into the lab at different times of the day. During the day, the unpainted window surfaces allow the audience a direct view of the magnificent sycamore trees outside of the building. In the dark of night, a mirrored reflection of the staggered light. The intention of the beautiful mural is to integrate and hold the visual energy of the quantum laboratory by graphically bringing the back wall closer with bold graphic elements.
South High Bay Laboratory, Quantum AI
Acrylic and Spray paint directly on the south wall of the laboratory.
Principal Artist Forest Stearns, in collaboration with Dr. Erik Lucero and Ando Pndlian
Photo credit: GOOGLE
Timelapse music credit by permission: “The Space Cadet” Julien Foster
Time lapse credit: JD Brynn of CINEDATA
“Duality”
(Mural 7.5x22’)
This mural features an open composition of floating abstract elements painted in a cool color scheme. It is the first of the three murals that the audience encounters from the museum walk hallway as they enter the quantum laboratory.
Acrylic on stretched canvas panels.
Artwork by Forest Stearns
Painted at DRAWEVERYWHERE STUDIOS in Oakland, Ca.
Photo credit: GOOGLE
“Entanglement”
( Mural 7.5x22’)
This mural features a dense composition composed of a predominantly warm color scheme. It enters the viewer’s field as they fully enter the lab and have a full view of the entire space.
Both pieces are exhibited on the inside and outside of the quantum laboratory bays. This presentation breaks through the visual line of the storefront windows in a slightly staggered manner inviting the viewer to look deeper into the high-tech workspace. The placement of these pieces is to visually interact with the physical racks of quantum computers, adding a backdrop to the beautiful evolutions of quantum computer hardware.
Acrylic on stretched canvas panels.
Artwork by Forest Stearns
Painted at DRAWEVERYWHERE STUDIOS in Oakland, Ca.
Photo credit: GOOGLE
Photo credits: GOOGLE & DRAWEVERYWHERE
Screen capture: Google Quantum AI Website
Multimedia Illustrations:
“Dawn of the NISQ Era” ( Painting 3x4’)
“Yosemite Views” ( Painting 44x110”)
The exhibition of original paintings, then printed and wrapped on Quantum computers in the laboratory. Traditionally painted pieces bring unique light to subject matter and valuable internal ideas. The pieces celebrate hardware and software achievements and bring a personal light to individual scientists whose contributions will not be forgotten.
Photo credit: GOOGLE
Acrylic on stretched canvas panels.
Artwork by Forest Stearns
Painted at DRAWEVERYWHERE STUDIOS in Oakland, Ca.
Large-format photography of hardware:
Photography by Dr. Erik Lucero
The utility of Lucero’s photographic practice records the dynamic evolution and nuance of the quantum hardware. His artistic approach and photographic style illuminates the inherent beauty and epic utility of the unique artifacts that he and fellow scientists are producing in the Google Quantum AI laboratory. A full portfolio of large-format prints is exhibited throughout the campus in concert with the murals and illustrations.
“I asked Erik, what is quantum computing? And instead of sending me a white paper, he sent me his gorgeous portfolio of photographs of the quantum computers.”
-Forest Stearns -
Interviewed by —
- Mike Cerre -
Special correspondent for PBS arts and culture series, Canvas, reports from Goleta, California.
Photo credit: Dr. Erik Lucero
Artistic productions supporting the Quantum endeavors:
Quantum Computers wrapped with murals by the artists of the Artist in Residence Creative Exchange program
Industrial design and fabrication of museum exhibitions, trophies, and collateral
Illuminated portraits of hardware and team members
Live art pieces illustrating quantum hardware
Apparel and surface design swag
Filmmaker in Residence documentary film by JD Brynn of CINEDATA
Art Direction and illustration based production of multiple buildings of the Quantum Campus
“The exciting mission of the AiR program is to directly inspire “Creative Permission” in our team, our scientific community, and our future collaborators”.
- Forest Stearns -
Co- founder & Principal Artist of the Google Quantum AI Artist in Residence Program
Photo courtesy of Google Quantum AI
From the Google Quantum chip to the quantum computer wrapped in the Yosemite painting.
Documentary time lapse in the GQ2 laboratory. By: JD Brynn / Cinedata: Draweverywhere & Quantum - Filmmaker in Residence
Abstract and landscape paintings by Forest Stearns, Artist in Residence Co-Founder