Q&A with Barbara Mink, by Stephen Kimball, TC Weekly

Light In Winter has an overarching theme every year. In general, how do you come up with a theme?

Actually, last year was the only time we consciously programmed around a theme, Identity; but we
decided not to do that again because it’s too limiting. Creating a synergy among music, art and science
is a big enough challenge without complicating it further. That being said, it’s fun to look at how the
weekend has shaped up and see what connections DO emerge; after all, that’s what Light in Winter
has always been about: finding connections. We try to have a range of art performances and science
lectures, but sometimes music or dance will dominate depending on how things fall out, and people’s availability.

Can you connect the elements of this year’s festival? It ranges from illusionist Jeff McBride to Wine Tasting,
Origami, and PUSH Physical Theatre.

Even though there is no over-arching theme, what unites everything this weekend is magic; whether it’s our deligh
t in being tricked by illusions or the joy in figuring out how those illusions are created. For example, Alex Stone is
a magician and physics grad student in NYC who is writing a book on how the brain processes magic; he and
Jeff McBride will talk about how the brain is tricked by misdirection the day after our Las Vegas-style opening night.
Or, when people see fantastic creations of origami shaped like birds or architectural wonders, it looks impossible;
but Robert Lang will break the creation down into its mathematical formulae, and Mario Livio will reveal the mathematical
underpinnings of the universe we’re not even aware of. PUSH physical theatre is exploring the way the body works, and
how physical limitations can be transcended by creativity. To me, just about everything in the world around us is magical;
how far we want to peek behind the curtain is what makes living so much fun.

The nucleus of Light In Winter is the intersection of art and science. Had you explored this for a long time prior to
launching the festival?

No, I hadn’t. My original interest was in starting a summer chamber music festival here; but as we refined the idea over
four years of discussion, issues of financial support, community needs, the complications of full academic calendars and
so on went into the thought process. Former Cornell Concert Series Director Richard Riley suggested incorporating
popular science in the mix. A feasibility  study we commissioned suggested that it couldn’t be done on the shoestring
budget we were looking at; but we decided to give it a try anyway by featuring local artists and scientists, and to grow
from there. Now we have more than half the performers coming in from all over the country, which is thrilling, but I’d
like to keep spotlighting the fantastic and generous intellectual and artistic resources in Ithaca that made Light in Winter
possible in the first place, and which keeps it going.

Has the way the festival is organized evolved over time? You’ve always been the artist director, correct?

Yes, but it has evolved over time. First of all, the festival has a stellar Board of Directors, people who believe
in the mission of Light in Winter and work so hard to make sure it’s realized. I’ve also had the privilege of
working with some phenomenal people to bring the festival to fruition, many of whom went off the Board of
Directors and then back on, keeping a sense of history and expertise. This year has been the biggest change,
with Marie Sirakos, who had been the festival’s production coordinator, stepping into a new role of Executive Director,
taking over the fundraising, operations, marketing, and overseeing production. She’s done a
fantastic job, and it’s been wonderful working as a partner with her. I’ve been able to concentrate on what got
me started on Light in Winter  in the first place: bringing together performers and scientists to explore new and interesting ideas.

Do you have any favorite performances from part Light In Winter Festivals?

I know it’s a question you have to ask, but it’s actually very hard for me to single out performances. Whether
it’s the fairly amazing headliners like Pilobolus, Laurie Anderson, Paul Winter, Kronos quartet, or some of the
smaller performances like Birdsong in Messiaen or Elegance of Motion or Who Are We or Einstein the Stage Show,
or the big finales that brought music and science together like Forces of Nature, Sync, Dance of the Machines;
whether we look at individual performances or the weekend as a whole, I think every year has brought something
new to people who have attended that sparked their interest to learn more.

Do does your work as a painter intersect with your other work, including Light In Winter?

That’s an interesting question; I would have to say no, more competes than intersects. I don’t consciously try to bring
together science and art in my work, though I have a lot of respect for those who do, people like Alexis Rockman.  But
I started painting around the same time that I first thought about Light in Winter, so there must have been some creative
impulse trying to emerge. I think starting, developing, and running Light in Winter was really a cross between the creativity
of painting and the skills I use in teaching Management Communication at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.

What creative minds are inspiring you now?

I would answer that in two ways: one is what’s going on in the world of ideas, the other is developing relationships with people
who have been exploring science and art connections for years. In that latter regard, one of the joys of developing the festival
over six years is getting to know Bruce Adolphe, a composer and pianist who is featured this year in Memories of a Possible Future.
Bruce has focused on the connections between art, music and science for years, especially for young people, and has been a
popular Light in Winter performer twice before.  We’ve also become allies with Redshift Productions, a young production company
which focuses on science communication through the arts, and with the City University of New York’s Art and Science series,
run by physicist Brian Schwartz. And the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra’s new conductor Lanfranco Marcelletti is eager to
collaborate on imaginative programming, so the more we continue, the more connections we make with people all over the
world who have similar interests. Holding the festival in a small upstate city in the middle of winter presents its own set of
challenges, but…so far so good!

In terms of current ideas, I’m very interested in the work of Michael Pollan, author of An Omnivore’s Dilemma, about the state of
industrialized food production and consumption. I already tried to get him to come to Light in Winter next year, but he’s booked up. 
I would like to have something, though, contrasting the pros and cons of  food science with the “locovore” and Community Supported
Agriculture movements, maybe link that with a fun concert of music about food. There is also some interesting work going on with
how the brain processes color and visual art, maybe linking that with the science of art authentication; and definitely another science play,
whether for young people or older audiences. Maybe something on how the voice works, or questions of scale by looking at nanotechnology,
or how ancient instruments like Indonesian Gamelan are being used to perform contemporary music and explore robotics and electronics.
Every day there are new articles and books being written that spark new ideas; the challenge is to keep them educational, accessible, and fun.

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