The American Museum of Natural History is showcasing new imaging technology the uncovers the once-hidden, intricate details of both natural phenomena and cultural artifacts. The exhibit features more than 20 sets of striking large-format prints.
The images were created in pursuit of scientific knowledge but also resulted in visually arresting art.
Such technologies as infrared photography, scanning electron microscopy, and computed tomography (CT) were used to
analyze a range of specimens and phenomena at levels of detail previously unimaginable, according to the museum.
“When science and technology come together, the fruits are often beautiful and surprising, as this new exhibition so brilliantly demonstrates,” said Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History.
“New imaging tools allow us to present anew the intersection of science and art—both vital lenses through which, separately and increasingly together, we can better understand the world around us.”
Entitled “Picturing Science: Museum Scientists and Imaging Technologies,” the exhibition is curated by Mark Siddall, from the Museum’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology. The exhibition will be on view through June 24, 2012.
“There is a nexus of aesthetics and science that too often goes unstated by us scientists to the public,” said Siddall. “This is a unique opportunity for researchers at the Museum to share their personal fascination with what they see in the course of their research.”
Supernovas, long-buried ancient villages, microscopic hairs on wasp antennae and biological fluorescence are featured among the compositions, the work of 27 museum scientists, students, and staff from the Divisions of Anthropology, Invertebrate Zoology, Physical Sciences, Vertebrate Zoology and Paleontology, as well as from the Richard Gilder Graduate School.
The exhibition, which opens on Saturday, June 25, in the Museum’s second-floor Akeley Gallery. The Museum is open daily, 10 am to 5:45 pm, and closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
General admission is $16 (adults), $12 (students/seniors), $9 (children). Prices are considered donations, and are not necessary to enter the museum.
For additional information, call 212-769-5100 or visit the museum’s website.