Psyche Inspired: Ral Vandenhoudt
Institution: Emory University
Major: Biology, Economics
Psyche Inspired Class: 2019-2020
Reflections from Ral
Psyche through the Multispectral Imager
Psyche through the Multispectral Imager
Ral Vandenhoudt
Major: Biology, Economics
Genre/Medium: digital
About the work: My piece sees Psyche through the multicolored lens of time. Around Psyche, there are orbital spheres with formulas. Newton and Kepler’s original formulas zoom alongside Einstein’s and Hawking’s postulations. This piece highlights the scientific progress upon which Psyche is built and which the mission will help advance. The color palette reflects the upbeat and optimistic tone that the mission’s potential has. By studying Psyche, we can learn more about our own origins and Earth’s development. This is echoed by the scientific development pictured within the orbs.
Psyche’s Psyche
Psyche’s Psyche
Ral Vandenhoudt
Major: Biology, Economics
Genre/Medium: digital
About the work: The goddess Psyche represents the soul. As such, I like to imagine asteroid Psyche’s soul as the quintessential Greek goddess eagerly awaiting the spacecraft’s visit. In a lighthearted inversion of this “soul within” idea, I present the goddess engulfing the asteroid. The soul protecting the asteroid seems a fitting allegory for the insights Psyche offers into earth’s own past. Psyche holds such scientific potential that it’s almost as if she (Psyche the goddess) mysteriously guards her asteroid, inviting us to gain understanding of our own planet’s psyche.
Psyche Taking a Dip
Psyche Taking a Dip
Ral Vandenhoudt
Major: Biology, Economics
Genre/Medium: graphite on paper
About the work: This piece depicts the Psyche spacecraft diving into the light of science, escaping the nebulous mystery of the unknown. The insights we stand to gain from investigating the asteroid can illuminate us as to the origins of our own planet.
Modeling Psyche
Modeling Psyche
Ral Vandenhoudt
Major: Biology, Economics
Genre/Medium: graphing calculator
About the work: This dynamic piece is meant to be interacted with on an online graphing calculator. Click here to allow manipulation of the model with fun mathematics.