- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The exhibit features 50 student photographs exploring the conceptual
connections between art and science and the role of art and science on the UC Davis campus. The opening reception, which is free and open to the public, is Thursday, June 6 from 3 to 5 p.m.
The UC Davis Art Science and Fusion Program, co-founded and co-directed by entomologist/artist Diane Ullman and artist Donna Billick. Ullman is the associate dean of undergraduate academic programs in the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UC Davis professor of entomology, and Billick is a self-described rock artist whose work has been shown throughout the world.
The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, launched in 1997, helps students reach across disciplines to learn science through art, and art through science, Ullman said. Each course focuses on key areas of biology, physics or environmental science and expressive art media, including ceramics, graphics, textiles, photography, poetry and music.
Of his course, “Photography, Bridging Art and Science,” Nathan says: “Beginning with centuries-old experiments in optics and chemistry to the present-day digital revolution, the camera has relied on science for itsdevelopment while also serving as a vital scientific tool for probing and documenting the natural world. In the hands of the artist, the camera has heightened our awareness of the aesthetic qualities of space and light while revealing hidden truths about culture and society."
“In this art/science fusion course (SAS 40), students use photography to explore the common ground occupied by art and science. Two lectures each week address topics such as the art and science roots of photography; principles of space, time and light; Gestalt psychology meets Einsteinian physics in photographic composition; the geometric foundations of art and science; order versus disorder; and photographic interpretation of the environment. One studio session each week builds visual literacy skills through hands-on photography projects. This final student exhibition highlights the learning and creativity that emerges when students explore the intellectual realm shared by art and science.”
Nathan is a professor in the Atmospheric Science Program of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, as well as a professor in the Art/Science Fusion Program and the Graduate Program in Applied Mathematics.
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