Science + Art at Artomatic

As much as I may complain about misrepresentations of literature in science or misrepresentation of science in entertainment, I love artwork inspired by science. Which is why I was delighted by the many science and art connections to be seen at Artomatic this year. 

(A very cellular scale) "Portrait of a Human" by Artologica

The work I was most excited to see was from Artologica. Michele Banks makes gorgeous water color paintings of neurons and microbes. I love how she brings out the natural beauty of bacteria. It reminds me how beautiful and sufficient the natural world is.

Another fantastic exhibit was by Sarah Noble, a research scientist at NASA and artist.

"Our Earth" Sarah Noble

She has some amazing portraits of planets and abstract rockets, but I really love her 'earth from space' series. Especially "our earth" shown above.  I love the stark whites, the hint of blue on the earth, and the feeling of loneliness it evokes. It reminds me of the scene in Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, where two characters are traveling alone on a glacier which extends as far as the eye can see.

The 30 Computers Project uses discarded computer parts to make large 3D models of viruses and molecules and other exciting science things!

Adeno cd virus

You can go HERE to see how they made this large sculpture. 

Another favorite was Erika Rubel's Had Matter kitchen bugs: 

Kitchen Spatula Bug

These insects made with salvaged vintage kitchen utensils remind me of the little steampunk robots in Girl Genius. The only thing that could make them cooler is if they were controlled by rat neurons. 

Another delightful exhibit was from Duncan Guthery, quite possibly the coolest 11 year old ever.
He makes lego mosaics of familiar characters, like this streetfighter:

pixels made with legos

Also on exhibit were the Beatle's Yellow Submarine and a big Totoro. Not exactly science related, but turning legos into pixels is pretty cool.

And finally, the great Peep Diorama Contest submissions were all on display.  Although the "OccuPeepDC" diorama won the contest, my favorite was the peep CERN lab. 

Peep CERN lab

close up of marshmallow Peep CERN lab

There was so much more at Artomatic than I can possibly cover here. I was there for 4 hours or so and still only managed to see 3 of the 11 floors full to bursting of art exhibits. I am sure I missed some amazing science-related art. If you were there or are a science-related artist, please comment or email to let me know about your work. 


© TheCellularScale 
(I took all of the pictures here except "our earth" which I got from Sarah Noble's website)