Gravity exhibition at MAXXI explores relativity through art and science

The MAXXI museum in Rome, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency and the National Institute of Nuclear Physics, presents the interactive exhibition 'Gravity,' marking over a century since Einstein's theory of relativity. The show features works by Tomás Saraceno, Laurent Grasso, and Allora & Calzadilla, among others, arranged in three sections: Spacetime, Crisis, and Boundaries. Saraceno's installations, such as 'Echoes of the Arachnid Orchestra with Cosmic Dust' and 'KM3Net,' translate gravitational waves and spider web vibrations into soundscapes. Grasso's 'The Horn Perspective' references the cosmic microwave background discovered by Penzias and Wilson in 1964. Allora & Calzadilla's video 'The Great Silence' poses existential questions about intelligent life in the universe, referencing the Arecibo radio telescope and Fermi's paradox. The exhibition also includes historical artifacts like Galileo's telescope and contemporary interferometers. Special guests include astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti in a related talk series.