Category: The Art of Science

The Art of Science: Mark Dion’s Marine Invertebrates

markdion

Andy Warhol famously said that “Art is what you can get away with.” It seems a good definition for this sculpture by renowned American artist Mark Dion.  The piece, Marine Invertebrates, is made up of dog toys and sex toys displayed in specimen bottles, as if in an old-fashioned natural history museum.

The toys, which bear an uncanny resemblance to real marine invertebrates,  continue Dion’s exploration of the ways that museums and other institutions shape our views of nature.   A show of his work, including this piece, is on exhibit at the Tonya Bonakdar gallery in New York city through April 13.

According to the gallery website, “Appropriating archaeological and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Dion creates works that question the distinctions between objective (rational) scientific methods and subjective (irrational) influences. The artist’s spectacular and often fantastical curiosity cabinets, modeled on Wunderkabinetts of the 16th Century, exalt atypical orderings of objects and specimens….Mark Dion questions the authoritative role of the scientific voice in contemporary society.” (source)

On a less philosophical plane, my personal responses to this artwork were (in objective, rational, scientific order): 1. Hahahahahaha! 2. OMG that is amazing. 3. Damn, I wish I had thought of that.

More information on the Dion exhibit and his other works are at the Tonya Bonakdar Gallery website.

The Art of Science: Not The Comfy Chair

Molecular_Chair_Antonio_Pio_Saracino_Cervo1When a furniture designer thinks of a new chair, he or she is likely to consider its looks, size, durability, construction and – above all – comfort.  When an artist with a scientific bent tackles the same project – eh, not so much. These three sci-art seats are long on cool but short on comfy. Continue reading “The Art of Science: Not The Comfy Chair”

The Physics of Otters

This strip from Karl Kerschl’s The Abominable Charles Christopher sits at the intersection of art, science, and otters – a place I like to call “home”.

Anatomy of an Otter Slide - The Abominable Charles Christopher by Karl Kerschl (All Rights Reserved, Used & Adapted with Permission)
Anatomy of an Otter Slide – The Abominable Charles Christopher by Karl Kerschl (All Rights Reserved, Used & Adapted with Permission)

Neither Karl nor I vouch for the equations represented as being either perfectly accurate or the most relevant. Rather they serve as symbols representing the mechanics that go into making something as delightful as an otter sliding into the water. We do, however, provide a comment thread, if you would like to engage in a few rounds of cathartic pedantry (I know I do from time to time).

You can and should follow Karl on Twitter and The Abominable Charles Christopher on tumblr.

 

The Art of Science: A Portrait in Cells

Portrait of a Human, 2011
Portrait of a Human 

In 2011, I was starting to plan for an exhibit at the Cafritz Arts Center in Maryland, based around the theme of cells. I knew that I didn’t want to just paint a bunch of various cells – I wanted to use them to express some thoughts about how humans relate to each other. Continue reading “The Art of Science: A Portrait in Cells”

The Unfeathered Bird – A review in three parts

Skulls of Galapagos Finches by Katrina von Grouw - The Unfeathered Bird (2012 Princeton University Press - Used with Permission)
Skulls of Galapagos Finches by Katrina von Grouw – The Unfeathered Bird (2012 Princeton University Press – Used with Permission)

Katrina van Grouw‘s The Unfeathered Bird is a complicated book that combines elegant writing, copious information, and beautiful illustrations with bird anatomy. There may only be one person on earth prepared to handle all of that on her own. She wrote the book. And, it took her over 25 years.

We don’t have anyone that can cope with The Unfeathered Bird on their own. That’s ok. A multifaceted book should get a multifaceted review. So, we created a dream team of reviewers: artist Michele Banks focused on the artistry, Rebecca Heiss (PhD in avian physiology) focused on the avian physiology information, and Josh, me, focused. . .well it is not entirely clear what I focused on, like usual.

Michele Banks: The Art of The Unfeathered Bird
Rebecca Heiss: The Birds of The Unfeathered Bird
Josh Witten: The Layers of The Unfeathered Bird