Heidi Neilson

Far Sighted

6/15/23 - 9/10/23

Far Sighted is an exhibition by interdisciplinary artist and science enthusiast, Heidi Neilson. Neilson has a nuanced way of investigating our relationship with satellites through her art practice. The conceptually-driven artworks pull the viewer into the world of satellites with intelligence, beauty and understated humor. Far Sighted shows us satellites as compelling machines and sculptural objects whilst acknowledging and revealing their functions and purposes. Viewers will leave Far Sighted with new insights into our orbiting robots.

Starlink Asterisks

Starlink Asterisks continuous pattern print series relates to Starlink. The Starlink project is the in-development network of Earth-orbiting satellites to provide low latency broadband internet access to consumers worldwide, particularly to those in remote areas where internet access is limited. Operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Starlink’s planned network will be visible from earth and will double the amount of functional satellites in low earth orbit. Starlink Asterisks is an installation using risograph prints to “wallpaper” a section of the gallery. Neilson’s asterisk design is comprised of 3 overlapping Starlink satellites that connect to create a repeating pattern of stars, just as the actual project will fill the sky with a repeating pattern of “stars.”

Details from the Least Popular

The print series Details from the Least Popular contains the most plain, uninteresting detail areas from 10 of the one hundred least popular images in the Hubble Space Telescope online image gallery, in order with the least popular first. Accessed on November 30, 2012, the gallery contained 1298 images.

***Details from the Least Popular***—Mars on Dec. 3, 2007; longitude ~320 degrees
2023, Photographic Print, 16 x 20 in.

***Details from the Least Popular***—Giant Gravitational Arc
2023, Photographic Print, 16 x 20 in.

***Details from the Least Popular***—Saturn’s Moons—Frame 3
2023, Photographic Print, 16 x 20 in.

***Details from the Least Popular***—Detail of NGC 300—Nucleus
2023, Photographic Print, 16 x 20 in.

***Details from the Least Popular***—Merging Clusters in 30 Doradus (Non-annotated)
2023, Photographic Print, 16 x 20 in.

***Details from the Least Popular***—Hubble Image of Stellar Bow Shock (3of4)
2023, Photographic Print, 16 x 20 in.

Remote Magnetometer

Remote Magnetometer is a sound instrument which is based physically and conceptually on the Magnetometer scientific instrument on the NOAA-NASA GOES-16 weather satellite, which monitors solar wind colliding with the magnetosphere, like the polar auroras. The long wires of the piece’s boom vibrate with small motors controlled by near-real-time data from the Magnetometer. RM uses electronic bass pickups to capture the string’s vibration as sound, emitted from speakers within. The ambient environment of the viewer is combined with the remote atmospheric phenomena.

Remote Magnetometer is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Officer of the Governor and the New York State Legislature through a Support for Artists Grant, fiscally sponsored by Wave Farm.

Satellite Commemorations

SNAP 10A

VANGUARD 1

SYNCOM 2

PIONEER 4

LUNA 1

EXPLORER 11

TRANSIT 4A

PROSPERO x-3

Satellite Commemorations is series of prints commemorating defunct satellites which remain in orbit today, made by letterpress print collage; two images from the same linoleum block were combined for each image, one black ink on white paper, one silver ink on black paper. Each print has black on black letter press detailing each satellite’s name, launch date and mission.

Installation: ***Satellite Commemorations***

Looking into the Sun, 17 April, 2023

Installation: ***Remote Magnotometer, Looking into the Sun—17 April, 2023***

Artist Bio

Heidi Neilson is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores connections between people on the ground and off-planet conditions and infrastructure. She works in multiple mediums including radio transmissions, sound, prints, books, sculpture, electronics, and video. She is currently co-operating Here GOES Radiotelescope, a sculptural receiving station for the GRB transmission from GOES-16, a NOAA weather satellite, and mining the volumes of earth observation and space weather data collected by the station for a variety of projects. Other recent work includes Moon Arrow, a mechanical sculpture which continually points at the moon, and Sonic Planetarium, an immersive sound installation made from recordings of orbiting satellites.

Neilson has been awarded an Individual Artists grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (2022), Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Work—New York Foundation for the Arts (2015), Media Assistance Fund for Artists Grant—New York State Council on the Arts in Partnership with Wave Farm (2018), Art Matters Grant—Art Matters Foundation (2013), and Individual Artist Support—New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Queens Council on the Arts (2021, 2018, 2007). She has been awarded artist residencies at the NYC Urban Field Station, SPACES, Wave Farm, Klondike Institute of Art & Culture, Provisions Library, Elsewhere, Lower East Side Printshop, Center for Book Arts, Visual Studies Workshop, and Women’s Studio Workshop. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and her artist books and other works are held in over 100 collections, including those of the Brooklyn Museum, Cleveland Institute of Art, Columbia University, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and Yale University.

Born in Oregon, Heidi Neilson received a BA in biology from Reed College and an MFA in painting from Pratt Institute. She currently teaches art and design at Parsons School of Design | The New School and SUNY Purchase College, and lives and works in NYC. Her ham radio call sign is KD2ESI.