Science as Muse

The eight artists in Science as Muse share a particular interest in science, though their artistic interpretations vary dramatically. Included in this exhibition are artists who have been caught up in the documentation of the incredible worlds within which scientists practice their craft. Other artists use sophisticated equipment made possible only by modern scientific innovation. Some approach their creation through the foundational scientific process, asking questions and applying scientific method, producing unexpected results. Finally, there are those artists who have recontextualized science and its paraphernalia, imbuing or even circumventing the essence of time-tested practical applications with aesthetic pursuits.

The threads that can be teased from these different approaches remind us that photography itself comes from science, and that its early practitioners were as varied as their contemporary descendants. Among early photographers there were storytellers, technicians, explorers, and there were alchemists drawn to the unknowns that chemistry promised. This spirit of discovery then remains with us, and these artists are proof that the muse is always dancing just beyond our reach.