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The SciArt Buzz: ScienceArt on Exhibit in Sept/Oct 2013

Summer may be coming to a close, but there are buckets of good science art exhibitions opening at venues near YOU! EXHIBITS: NORTHEAST REGION SENSING CHANGE 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 [...]

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


Summer may be coming to a close, but there are buckets of good science art exhibitions opening at venues near YOU!

EXHIBITS: NORTHEAST REGION

SENSING CHANGE


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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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AMBIENT PLAGUES: Elaine Whittaker

September 4 - 28, 2013

Red Head Gallery

401 Richmond Street West

Toronto, Ontario

Ambient Plagues is a mixed media installation that explores this invisible world, a world teeming with microbial life, and the possibility of infection. Microbes are sublime, beautiful, but we can’t see them. They keep us alive, but they can make us sick, even causing death. The art works in Ambient Plagues make them visible. Through sculpture, photography, microscopy, and live bacteria, the artworks blur the boundaries between what is real and what is manufactured, what is animate and what is inanimate. Ultimately, they challenge viewers’ perceptions about their bodies, a site that has become trespassed, tainted, and contaminated by a popular culture that escalates social anxiety and terror of microbes, by artificially creating a sense of bioparanoia.

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CONVERGENCY

September 13 - October 26, 2013

Pelham Art Center

155 Fifth Avenue

Pelham, NY

A group exhibition of sculpture and installation by contemporary mid-career artists addressing narratives related to science and technology. Curator Jeffrey Mongrain is an artist and Head of MFA Sculpture at Hunter College in NYC. Artists included in the exhibition are: Dylan Beck, Christie Brown, Chad Curtis, David East, Linda Ganstrom, Arthur Gonzalez, Nicholas Kripal, James Lawton, Steven Montgomery, Judy Moonelis, Sana Musasama, Matt Nolen, Denise Pelletier, Benji Schulman, Virginia Scotchie, Bobby Silverman, Neil Tetkowski, Adam Welch, and Susan York.

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WINGED TAPESTRIES: Moths at Large

through September 29, 2013

American Museum of Natural History

Central Park West and 79th St.

New York, NY

Witness the arresting beauty and surprising diversity of moths in a presentation of more than 30 large-format prints by Canadian photographer Jim des Rivières. Des Rivières creates these larger-than-life images by scanning each moth at high resolution to reveal unexpected colors and intricate patterns.

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WEIRD SCIENCE: People, Nature, and the Scientific Method in Art

August 24th - September 14th, 2013

MAC650 Art Gallery

650 Main Street

Middletown, CT

Insects reinterpreted as intricate clocks, plushie bugs and microbes, and a Steampunk quadriped will be on display at MAC650's Art Gallery through September 14th. The exhibit will feature works by the Weird Bug Lady, Dr. Grymm, Mary McCarthy, Vincent Vernacatola, Christian Perez, Kaylee Belli, Katharine Owens and others whose study includes science and environmental art. Workshops for the public will also take place. Proceeds from the show go to the Connecticut Audubon Society.

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Princeton University's ART of SCIENCE

through September 15, 2013

Liberty Science Center

222 Jersey City Boulevard

Jersey City, NJ

The Art of Science exhibition marks Princeton University's 6th annual competition for images that explore the interplay between science and art. Both of these disciplines involve the pursuit of those moments of discovery when what is perceived suddenly becomes more than the sum of its parts. Each piece in this exhibition is, in its own way, a record of such a moment. These 44 extraordinary images are not art for art's sake. Rather, they were produced during the course of scientific research. For those not able to make it to New Jersey to view the exhibition in person, the images and the science behind them can be viewed online.

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EXHIBITS: SOUTH

INKED ANIMAL

July 15 - September 15, 2013

Once Over Coffee Bar

2009 South 1st Street

Austin, TX

Art.Science.Gallery. is pleased to present a selection of recent works by Inked Animal at Once Over Coffee Bar in Austin, Texas. Enjoy the city’s best coffee while exploring the gyotaku-style prints of local Austin artists and scientists Adam Cohen + Ben Labay. As scientists, they collect and curate fishes at the Texas Natural History Collections at the University of Texas at Austin. As artists, they create often ethereal relief prints in the Japanese gyotaku-style of animals from the Texas hill country. Join us for an artist's reception, September 7th from 7-9pm.

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DINOSAURS IN MOTION

May 18 - September 8, 2013

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

11 West Jones St.

Raleigh, NC

Join us for the world premiere of Dinosaurs in Motion, where visitors engage with — and learn from — 14 magnificent, life-size metal dinosaur sculptures inspired by actual fossils.

Dinosaurs in Motion sculptures take interactivity to a whole new dimension. Visitors can manipulate each dinosaur via lever-and-pulley systems or remote controls in a brand new exhibit that fuses art with traditional STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) for STEAM. Visitors are also taken along an apprentice’s path that ends at Innovation Stations, where they can test their creativity and newfound technological inspiration with hands-on activities that include creating their own sculptures out of recycled material scraps.

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EARTH AS ART

August 17 - November 9, 2013

Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

710 East St. Mary Blvd.

Lafayette, LA

In much of the work done at the NASA/UL Lafayette Regional Application Center, images from Satellites play a large role in the way we study climate change, weather patterns, natural and man-made disasters, timber stand health and man-kinds development and use of the Earth's resources. In studying these images we also find many of the fundamental elements of fine art such as, tonal quality, image composition and balance. In this exhibition, working with the USGS "Earth As Art" program, utilizing NASA Landsat Satellite Imagery we have comprised images we hope will excite the imagination and entertain your creative fancies.

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INTIMATE SCIENCE

September 14 - December 14, 2013

Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

710 East St. Mary Blvd.

Lafayette, LA

The most recent manifestation of artists working at the intersection of art, science and technology demonstrates a distinctly autodidactic, heuristic approach to understanding the physical and natural world. Intimate Science features artists who are engaged in non-disciplinary inquiry; they aren’t allied to the customs of any single field, and therefore have license to reach beyond conventions. This kind of practice hinges on up-close observation, experiential learning, and inventing new ways for the public to participate in the process. And through their engagement with "intimate science,” a more knowledgeable public might well be able to influence what research is supported and adopted by the larger culture, and the walls of science can become more transparent. This exhibit is organized by the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University.

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EXHIBITS: MIDWEST

NATURE'S TOOLBOX: Biodiversity, Art and Invention

August 31 - December 15, 2013

Ulrich Museum of Art

Wichita State University

1845 Fairmount Street

Wichita KS

We are all increasingly aware of the impact of humans on the complex patterns of nature in the world around us. And while humans have aggressively studied and catalogued the tremendous diversity of life on Earth for decades, we also consume this planet in countless ways that severely threaten nature itself. Harnessing technology and inspired by nature’s amazing design concepts, this exhibition's innovative, eye-capturing art helps visitors understand and appreciate the life-or-death interdependence between Earth’s 10 to 20 million species--including humans--and the quality of the environment we share. More than 40 artists will be represented with engaging works that demonstrate both the challenging issues facing us all, and our need to learn from nature as we tackle these challenges now and into the future. Organized by Art Works for Change, the exhibition premiered last year at the Field Museum.

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ANIMAL INSIDE OUT: A Body Worlds Production

March 14 - September 2, 2013

Museum of Science and Industry

5700 S. Lakeshore Drive

Chicago, IL

This exhibit, from anatomist Dr. Gunther von Hagens—creator of the trailblazing Body Worlds exhibitions—showcases amazing animal specimens preserved through the process of plastination, which replaces the body's fluids with plastics to incredibly detailed effect. From goats to giraffes and octopuses to ostriches, you'll see the inner workings of some of the world's most impressive animals and better understand the evolution of animals and the natural world.

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FRAGILE ENDURANCE: Work by Kate MacDowell

February 10 - September 22, 2013

John Michael Kohler Arts Center

608 New York Avenue

Sheboygan, WI

FRAGILE ENDURANCE explores the friction and discomfort in man’s relationship with nature. These works raise the question of our own vulnerability within changing ecological systems. Kate MacDowell’s choices of material and subject matter respond to environmental stressors such as climate change and species extinction. Her case studies of two extinct species—the Costa Rican golden toad and the passenger pigeon—can be seen as thoughtful records of lost life forms and commentaries on our own culpability.

**Kate MacDowell's work was previously featured on Symbiartic in Conservation Conversation in Clay.

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EXHIBITS: WEST

Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competion

May 3 - September 29, 2013

Pacific Science Center

200 Second Avenue North

Seattle, WA

The Nikon International Small World Competition first began in 1975 as a means to recognize and applaud the efforts of those involved with photography through the light microscope. Since then, Small World has become a leading showcase for photomicrographers from the widest array of scientific disciplines. Each year, the top 20 prize-winners are exhibited at numerous museums and science centers throughout the United States and Canada. Contest rules and deadlines: http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/

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ABOVE AND BELOW: Stories From Our Changing Bay

August 31, 2013 – February 23, 2014

Oakland Museum of California

1000 Oak Street

Oakland, CA

Above and Below: Stories From Our Changing Bay unveils the quirky stories of how people and nature together have shaped the San Francisco Bay Area over the last 6,000 years. The first major exhibition to be presented with all three of OMCA’s transformed galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences open to the public, the exhibition highlights historic and contemporary place-based stories about the Bay, and engages viewers in discussions about the Bay’s future. Through an extensive use of media featuring oral histories, community voices, and interactives, the exhibition explores how human engineering and natural forces have come together over time to shape and reshape the land and water around the San Francisco Bay, and how sea-level rise, wetlands restoration, invasive species, and climate change are central topics in determining the future of the Bay.

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THE ART OF RECOLOGY

May 16 - October 27, 2013

F2 – North Connect Gallery

San Francisco International Airport,

United Airlines Terminal (Terminal 3)

San Francisco, CA

This exhibition celebrates the Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence Program and presents over one-hundred pieces made by forty-five artists. Founded in 1990, the Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence Program promotes recycling and reuse, and encourages people to reflect on how their consumption practices affect the environment. All of the works on display were made in the art studio at the San Francisco Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Facility and constructed from materials the artists scavenged from the Public Disposal and Recycling Area (or what we affectionately refer to as "the dump").

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INTO THE LIGHT: Sun photography by Alan Friedman

September 15 – December 31, 2013

Orange County Great Park Gallery

Sand Canyon and Marine Way

Irvine, CA

Alan Friedman, a self-titled citizen astronomer, points his telescope directly into the light of the sun from his backyard in Buffalo, New York. Using special filters attached to his high definition camera Friedman captures breathtaking images and video, detailing movements in the solar atmosphere that change over hours and sometimes minutes. The raw images are black and white and often blurry, requiring numerous hours of coloring adjusting and finessing to tease out the finest details.

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The Photography Of Modernist Cuisine: The Exhibition

October 26, 2013 - February 17, 2014

Pacific Science Center

200 Second Avenue North

Seattle, WA

Introducing The Photography of Modernist Cuisine: The Exhibition, a showcase of the stunning imagery produced by Nathan Myhrvold and his team at The Cooking Lab. It offers visitors a unique perspective on food in which the aesthetic beauty of plants, animals and cooking phenomena illuminates the fascinating, accessible science at work in our kitchens every day. With 100 large-scale images, guests will witness and explore the science of food through the lens of photography. See the fractal structures and mesmerizing color gradations of vitamin C crystals through research microscopes with special filters that polarize light. Learn about the physics that propels and explodes a bursting kernel of popcorn through the lens of a high-speed video camera that slows down the action by a factor of 200. This unprecedented collection of captivating images uses these innovations and other advanced technologies to show the world of food from a whole new angle.

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EXHIBITS: ABROAD

NATURE RESERVES

July 26 - September 13, 2013

GV Art Gallery

49 Chiltern Street, Marylebone

London, England

GV Art is pleased to announce Nature Reserves, a new group exhibition curated by Tom Jeffreys. The exhibition seeks to examine human understandings of the natural environment, and features work across a rich range of media – photography, printing, sculpture, sound and projection – by 12 contemporary artists. In addition there are archival materials from a range of museums, universities and other institutions; field recordings of deceased species of birds; and an installation of a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast known as kombucha, from which visitors can take away samples to start their own culture at home.

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EXHIBITS: ONLINE

Science Art-Nature's WINDOWS ON EVOLUTION: An Artistic Celebration of Charles Darwin

The University of Tennessee's EARLY IMAGES OF EGYPT: Selected Images of Egypt in the Photographic Archive Collection of the Frank H. McClung Museum

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.