John Collier's 1883 portrait of Charles DarwinMajor artists have always been heavily influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
Also be housed at Ed Video Media Arts Centre in downtown Guelph.
The Atrium
Photo:Rebecca Kendall
Billed as a melding of artistic and scientific disciplines, the exhibit will include painting, drawing, sculpture, video and even "deviant taxidermy" contributed by 10 artists from Guelph and area. U of G is a major reseach/teaching university when it comes to biodiversity for scientists and students world wide. ( June '09 U of G received $12.5 million for world-class research) Artists were asked to interpret Darwin’s ideas & related concepts such as biodiversity. “The artists were free to do what they liked, inspired by evolution and Darwin’s ideas,” said integrative biology professor Ryan Gregory, co-organizer of the show.
Above Photo: Dr.Ryan Gregory Vist The Gregory Lab HERE and GENOMICRON blog HERE.
Contributors to the exhibition include:
U of G studio art graduate Stephen Wicks
Guelph artist Alison Judd
Burnaby Orbax, a sessional lecturer in the Department of Physics
U of G MFA graduate Jenn Norton
Prof. Jean Maddison, Fine Art and Music.
Earlier this year, Gregory and departmental colleague Prof. Beren Robinson organized a Darwin-themed colloquium on evolutionary science and a workshop on teaching evolution for high school teachers. The Peter Yodzis Colloquia In Fundamental Ecology touches me deeply because it's named in memory of my dear friend Sue's husband Peter Yodsiz. This years colloquium looked for another way to mark Darwin’s 200th birthday and his book’s anniversary, they hit on the idea of an art show. A beautiful 'merger indeed. ART & SCIENCE!
“The act of science begins with the observation of nature,” said Robinson, referring to the five-year round-the-world voyage aboard the Beagle that helped hone Darwin’s skills as a natural historian. “That’s what artists do first, they look.” Art and science also meet in their use of metaphors for interpreting and teaching, he said. “One of the most powerful teaching tools is to find an apt metaphor for an idea. There’s an opportunity to share metaphors here.” The lone illustration in Darwin’s 1859 book — a branched diagram depicting his concept of species’ descent with modification — is echoed in the signature “tree of life” in the science complex atrium, said Robinson. “It’s a metaphor with unbelievable power.”
OTHER EVENTS
Two public lectures on aspects of evolution will also take place this fall on campus - free talks both begin at 7:30 p.m. in the science complex atrium.
* Oct. 13, Paul Ewald, director of the evolutionary medicine program at the University of Louisville, presents “Evolutionary Insights Into the Causes and Prevention of Cancer: It’s Not Just About Mutations Anymore.”
* Dec. 1, Niles Eldredge, curator at the American Museum of Natural History and author of books on evolutionary theory, will discuss “Darwin: Discovering the Tree of Life.” His lecture is organized by ASTRA.
More information is available online.
