This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
This is the dish on the latest exhibits combining science and art around the country. This time the prize for the most bumpin' scienceArt scene goes to the Northeast, amirite? Lucky you if you live there:
EXHIBITS: NORTHEAST REGION
JESSICA DRENK: An Allegory of Algorithms and Aesthetics
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April 12 - May 12, 2014
Adah Rose Gallery
3766 Howard Ave
Kensington, MD
Jessica Drenk’s work is a response to, and experimentation with, materials. Her inspiration comes from nature; she is constantly amazed by the diversity and beauty of the forms and patterns she sees. We often think of our immediate surroundings as being “man-made”, but man-made materials still behave according to the same principles as the natural world. Because nature is based on patterns and principles of organization, Jessica looks for man-made materials that might be manipulated according to similar patterns and principles. In her response to these materials Jessica becomes connected with the physical properties of the world.
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January 21 - May 31, 2014
AAAS Art Gallery
1200 New York Avenue NW
Washington, D.C.
The artwork in Voyage of Discovery has its roots in the idea of a journey of scientific exploration, in the tradition of Darwin, Wallace, and the thousands of scientists who constantly travel the globe in search of new findings. This imaginary voyage takes viewers to a polar region where the iconic, seemingly eternal, landscape of ice and snow is in profound and rapid transition due to climate change. The pieces in this show, created by Michele Banks, Jessica Beels and Ellyn Weiss in a wide variety of media, are not strictly based on scientific data. They reflect the artists’ responses to the transformation of land and sea - the melting of glaciers and the thawing of permafrost, the movement of previously unknown species and microbes into the region, the dramatic shift of the color of the land from white to green to black. The artwork takes a broad view of these changes: the artists are deeply aware of the damage done by climate change, yet intrigued by the possibilities of what lies below the ice and snow.
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April 19 - September 21, 2014
The New York Botanical Garden
2900 Southern Boulevard
Bronx, NY
In homage to the beauty of the botanical world's most bizarre flora, the Garden invited members of the American Society of Botanical Artists to participate in a study of the eccentric, creating works of art based on visually unusual plants chosen by the artists themselves. View the results of their efforts—46 captivating paintings and illustrations of exotic specimens—on display in the Ross Gallery.
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April 19, 2014 - January 4, 2015
New York State Museum
222 Madison Avenue
Albany, NY
Focus on Nature XIII features 91 natural and cultural history illustrations, representing the work of 71 illustrators from 15 different countries. The subjects represented are diverse, ranging from those only found in the artists’ home country to those that have a worldwide distribution; A special feature of FON XIII is a 3D illustration by Swiss artist Livia Maria Enderli of Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis). This reconstruction of a skull from an archaeological site in Uzbekistan in central Asia found in 1938 uses the latest technology available to artists and scientists.
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OUT OF HAND: Materializing the Postdigital
October 16, 2013 - July 6, 2014
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle
New York, NY
Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital will explore the many areas of 21st-century creativity made possible by advanced methods of computer-assisted production known as digital fabrication. In today’s postdigital world, artists are using these means to achieve levels of expression never before possible – an explosive, unprecedented scope of artistic expression that extends from sculptural fantasy to functional beauty. Out of Hand will be the first major museum exhibition to examine this interdisciplinary trend through the pioneering works of more than 80 international artists, architects, and designers.
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NATURAL HISTORIES: 400 Years of Scientific Illustration from the Museum’s Library
October 19, 2013 - October 12, 2014
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, NY
Featuring scientific illustrations spanning five centuries, the new exhibition Natural Histories: 400 Years of Scientific Illustration from the Museum’s Library explores the integral role illustration has played in scientific discovery through 50 striking, large-format reproductions from seminal holdings in the Museum Library’s Rare Book collection. Artists include Albrecht Dürer, Joseph Wolf, Moses Harris, John Woodhouse Audubon, and Maria Sibylla Merian.
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CLIMATE CHANGE IN OUR WORLD: Photographs by Gary Braasch
October 16, 2013 - July 6, 2014
Museum of Science
1 Science Park
Boston, MA
We have made the world of today. Human population growth, energy use, agricultural methods, and land development have all had a measurable effect on our climate. Our activities have raised the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to its highest level in millions of years. The average temperature is climbing out of the range in which living species evolved and is now affecting sea level, ocean acidity, and water availability. Melting ice caps and glaciers, as well as weather extremes, have also resulted from this phenomenon. Although we are already experiencing climate change, we have many options to moderate it and limit its effects, with prompt action curtailing further drastic consequences.
View the works of environmental photojournalist Gary Braasch to observe how climate change is altering our planet. You'll also see how humans are working to slow these changes through alternative energy use and conservation.
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July 1, 2013 - May 2, 2014
Chemical Heritage Foundation Gallery
315 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA
Sensing Change, an initiative of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, invites us to explore and respond to daily shifts in our environment as well as long-term climate change. Sensing Change is inspired by scientific investigations, historical accounts, and direct observations of the natural world. Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook using #SensingChange.
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JAMES PROSEK: Wondrous Strange
February 22 – June 8, 2014
New Britain Museum of American Art
56 Lexington Street
New Britain, CT
James Prosek’s work takes its inspiration from the long tradition of natural history painting; from animal depictions on cave walls to the works of Albrecht Dürer, William Blake, and John James Audubon. His contemporary influences are wide-ranging, from Lee Bontecou and Mark Dion to Martin Puryear and Eero Saarinen. In particular, Prosek’s work is conceptually focused on how we name and order nature, including the limitations of language in describing biological diversity. His art challenges us to reflect on how our culture, our priorities, and our values are manifested in systems we use to classify and harness nature.
EXHIBITS: SOUTH
April 12 – May 18, 2014
Art.Science.Gallery
916 Springdale Road
Building 2 #102
Austin, TX
Four artists explore the world through the lenses of geometry, geography + geology: Annell Livingston (Taos, NM), Landry McMeans (Austin, TX), Laura Moriarty (Kingston, NY), Ruthie Powers (Austin, TX).
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NUR: Light in Art and Science from the Islamic World
March 30-June 29, 2014
Dallas Museum of Art
1717 North Harwood
Dallas, TX
The DMA is the only venue outside of Europe to present Nur: Light in Art and Science from the Islamic World, an exhibition of Islamic art and culture exploring the use and meaning of light in Islamic art and science. Spanning more than ten centuries, the exhibition, organized by the Focus-Abengoa Foundation in Seville, Spain, features 150 rarely seen objects from around the world, including rare manuscripts and scientific objects. Deriving its title from the Arabic word for "light" in both the physical and metaphysical sense, Nur highlights innovations in artistic techniques that enhance the effect of light as well as scientific fields that contributed to enlightenment.
EXHIBITS: MIDWEST
October 5, 2013 – June 8, 2014
Bell Museum of Natural History
University Ave. & 17th Ave. SE
Minneapolis, MN
Today, the name Audubon is synonymous with birds and the conservation of nature. But who was John James Audubon, and what did he do to inspire such a following? This exhibition will give visitors the rare opportunity to view an extensive collection of the original “double-elephant” prints from The Birds of America, the work that made him famous. Produced from 1826 to 1838, the images revolutionized our view of birds and nature.
The exhibition traces Audubon’s remarkable life, then puts his work in context with examples of earlier bird illustrations, works by his contemporaries and the continuation of the artistic fascination with birds up to the present day.
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IMAGING/IMAGINING: The Body as Text, The Body as Art, The Body as Data
March 25 - June 20, 2014
Three locations in Chicago, IL:
Special Collections Research Center
1100 E. 57th St.
The Smart Museum of Art
5550 S. Greenwood Ave.
John Crerar Library
5730 S. Ellis Ave.
This exhibition will be held in various locations across the campus, including the Special Collections Research Center (The Body as Text), the Smart Museum (The Body In Art) and the Crerar Library (The Body as Data). Each space will introduce the history of anatomy in a specialized and organized category. The Body as Text explores the history of medical illustration as well as when the partnership of art and science were separated due to the invention of the x-ray. The Body as Data focuses on modern anatomy and the introduction of computers. The exhibition at the Smart Museum, The Body as Art, focuses on the subjective imagination within the medical illustrations that were once incredibly important for anatomists.
EXHIBITS: WEST
through July 2014
Pacific Science Center
200 Second Ave. N.
Seattle, WA
Joseph Rossano's interactive BOLD sculpture series interprets the work of innovative biodiversity scientists including Dr. Daniel H. Janzen, distinguished Kyoto Prize Laureate, Crafoord Prize recipient, BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge awardee, and University of Pennsylvania Professor.
Rossano engages the public in DNA barcoding of biodiversity by giving viewers access to efforts to catalog, understand, and protect our planet's precious and threatened biological resources. Sculptured and silvered polyurethane butterflies and Moorea reef fish, and lacquered sea life abstractions are the core of Rossano's exhibition.
BOLD shares the acronym of Barcode of Life Datasystems, the Canadian repository for the International Barcode of Life project, for which Janzen is a passionate proponent and contributor.
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2014 Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Annual Members Exhibit
April 30 - September 25, 2014
University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
Henderson Building
15th and Broadway
Boulder, CO
The University of Colorado Museum of Natural History is proud to present the 2014 Guild of Natural Science Illustrators 2014 Annual Members Exhibit. This juried exhibition represents the finest in contemporary scientific illustration by members of the GNSI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the practice of scientific illustration.
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CLEARED: Photography by Dr. Adam P. Summers
through Spring 2014
Seattle Aquarium
1483 Alaskan Way, Pier 59
Seattle, WA
The photographs in this mesmerizing show feature fish that have been specially treated to make the stained skeletal tissues visible through the skin and flesh. The technique, developed by Dr. Summers, uses dyes, hydrogen peroxide, a digestive enzyme and glycerin to make the flesh seem to disappear. Poetry by Sierra Nelson accompanies each image. Dr. Summers is a professor at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs and was the scientific consultant on Pixar’s “Finding Nemo.” The research that led to this exhibit was funded by the National Science Foundation.
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April 5 - June 29, 2014
Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
1305 East Cliff Drive
Santa Cruz, CA
The Museum welcomes back the California Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the CSUMB Science Illustration Graduate Program for its 25th annual exhibit highlighting the amazing detail and artistry of local science illustrators. Come experience over 60 works in a variety of media, depicting botany, birds, mammals and invertebrates. Explore why art is so important to science, and our understanding of the natural world. You are invited to explore the beautiful world of illustration and test your own skills while drawing Museum specimens in our Illustration Station.
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TENTACLES: The Astounding Lives of Octopuses, Squid, and Cuttlefishes
April 12, 2014 - September, 2016
Monterey Bay Aquarium
886 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA
Journey to a world of undersea magicians, masters of disguise and quick-change artists. Our special exhibition is the largest, most diverse living exhibit ever created to showcase these amazing animals. You won't believe your eyes.
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February 7, 2013 - September 6, 2014
Anchorage Museum
625 C Street
Anchorage, AK
With stunning visual impact and an astonishing array of ocean trash, internationally recognized artists create works of art for this exhibition from debris collected from beaches around the world. Plastic packaging in a throwaway culture finds its way into our ocean biosphere and then into the hands of artists. Our oceans and beaches are awash in plastic pollution propelled by gyre (rotating ocean currents). The exhibition explores the relationship between humans and the ocean in a contemporary culture of consumption.
EXHIBITS: ABROAD
Beautiful Science: Picturing Data, Inspiring Insight
February 20 - May 26, 2014
The Folio Society Gallery
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB
Turning numbers into pictures that tell important stories and reveal the meaning held within is an essential part of what it means to be a scientist. This is as true in today's era of genome sequencing and climate models as it was in the 19th century. Beautiful Science explores how our understanding of ourselves and our planet has evolved alongside our ability to represent, graph and map the mass data of the time. From John Snow's plotting of the 1854 London cholera infections on a map to colorful depictions of the tree of life, discover how picturing scientific data provides new insight into our lives.
Know of something we haven't listed here? Send me an email at symbiartic (dot) km (at) gmail (dot) com, or tweet me @eyeforscience with the deets. If it's scienceart related, it's fair game.