As part of the “Particles and Waves” exhibit at the Palm Springs Art Museum, Nathaniel Gabor, a professor of physics and astronomy at UCR, was invited to present and perform on Nov. 17. The free event was open to the public. Presented as part of the museum’s public programming offerings every third Sunday of the month, artists, creatives, makers, and musicians produce activities and lead workshops throughout the museum.  

The title of Gabor's performance was “I, Observe.” The quantum physicist Werner Heisenberg once said, “What we observe is not Nature itself but Nature exposed to our method of questioning.” In the program, Gabor explored how particles emerge from waves through our own creative expression of observation. 

“As observers of the physical world around us, our personal creativity can help distill the deeply mysterious relationship between our own everyday experience and quantum reality,” he said. 

During the event, Gabor, along with children and adults, produced live artwork in the atrium of the museum. By combining digital projections of wave-like patterns on large area screens, artists and creators were asked to identify and illustrate their own quantum particles.