deBuren

Robbert Dijkgraaf (1960) is a professor of Mathematical Physics at Amsterdam University. In 2003 he received the prestigious Spinoza Prize for his work in the field of string theory. String theory is not based on elementary particles such as electrons and quarks, but on a type of miniscule rubber bands which are able to vibrate in all sorts of ways. The theory forms a link between Einstein's theory of relativity and the quantum theory and is the most important candidate for a 'theory of everything": a coordinating definition of nature at an elementary level.

Eric Sleichim (1958) was one of the four musicians in Maximalist! until the end of the eighties, when he founded BL!NDMAN. Despite its traditional instruments, this saxophone quartet has managed to create a highly untraditional repertoire. For composer-saxophonist Eric Sleichim a saxophone is not only an instrument that can produce classical melodies but also a machine that can produce thuds, smacking sounds, peals and shrieks. This has resulted in completely new worlds of sound which have become all the rage internationally.

Homo Universalis: The art of knowing
Science brings order to chaos. Art does exactly the opposite. While scientists attempt to understand and structure reality, art is allowed to disrupt it. Nevertheless, science and art are interwoven with one another: scientists and artists are united in possessing the qualities of Homo Universalis: unbridled curiosity, the courage to accept failure, an inexhaustible determination to achieve one's goal, a flexible and open mind and above all, surprise.
At the Flemish-Dutch House deBuren, prominent scientists from the Netherlands and Flanders meet and converse with the Knack journalist Joel de Ceulaer, after which they are joined by an artist. A confrontation between art and knowledge or rather, a discussion on the art of knowing, every third Thursday in the month at deBuren.