Tag Archives: Art

The Cell: a hidden universe

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Kinesin protein walking on a microtubule.

Kinesin protein walking on a microtubule.

We’ve been discussing a new level of our hierarchical organization of life: cells. Everything we’ve discussed about biological molecules, polarity of water, functional groups, organic chemistry, hydrophobic, hydrophilic interactions, protein manufacture, etc., leads up to the cell.

In this post I will share videos that account for the microscopic universe of cells. Art, science, and technology crossed paths for each video. Notice themes we’ve discussed in class in each video, and align them with our class discussions–

Fanfarlo – Cell Song

Macro Kingdom III

The Hidden Life of the Cell

 

 

Aganetha Dyck: Guest Workers

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Notice the pattern that the honeycomb takes; this is a hexagonal tessellation. These patterns are seen in many biochemical phenomena, including carbon allotropes such as graphene, and big carbohydrates such as cellulose.

Notice the pattern that the honeycomb takes; this is a hexagonal tessellation. These patterns are seen in many biochemical phenomena, including carbon allotropes such as graphene, and big carbohydrates such as cellulose.

We’ll be done in the next few days with the molecular basis of inheritance. This means that the chapters on animals are getting closer. With this in mind, and knowing that the due date for your comments is very near, I wanted to share a post that accounts for the A in the STEAM model of science education.

The A in STEAM stands for Art. And in this post we’ll see how art, science, and conservation cross-pollinate each other. The artist in this post is Aganetha Dyck. She collaborates with scientists and bees to create sculptures wrapped in honeycomb. Her work is very poignant and current, considering that bee populations in North America, Europe and many other parts of the world have plummeted 30-50%. This very unfortunate phenomenon for all of mankind is called colony collapse disorder:

“Colony collapse is significant economically because many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by European honey bees. According to the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the worth of global crops with honeybee’s pollination was estimated to be close to $200 billion in 2005.[7] Shortages of bees in the US have increased the cost to farmers renting them for pollination services by up to 20%.”–Via Wikipedia.

The following short film shows Aganetha’s creative process:

Via Colossal | Art & Visual Culture

Cell biology and art.

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The discussion of the chemistry of life always leads up to bigger and more evident levels of biological concepts. Thanks to eons of emergent interactions between the elements of life–CHNOPS–, we have cells, the basic unit of life. And it took mankind more than 2,000 years to make the important breakthrough of discovering that all life is made out of cells. So, all matter is made out of atoms–and the interaction of its subatomic particles with other atoms–, and all life is made out of cells.

In 1665, English scientist Robert Hooke studied nature by using an early light microscope. Thanks to his curiosity and his inquiry–and his skills as an artist; his drawings are valuable works of art–today we can talk about cells:

"By the help of Microscopes, there is nothing so small, as to escape our inquiry; hence there is a new visable World discovered to the understanding."--Robert Hooke

“By the help of Microscopes, there is nothing so small, as to escape our inquiry; hence there is a new visible World discovered to the understanding.”–Robert Hooke

Just imagine the sense of amazement and wonder that resulted from this discovery. Even centuries after Hooke’s observation, its ripples–or muses–were felt well into the 20th century. The following images are examples of art drawing inspiration from science. For Hooke, art was a tool: drawings had to be made of his observations. Many artists followed this tradition and produced true works of art that delight and teach at the same time. These pieces can be seen on textbooks and academic journals. But this being The Hypertextual Lounge, we can see the cell in the context of fine art:

Terry Winters, Double Gravity. This piece resembles embryonic cells at different stages of development.

Terry Winters, Double Gravity. This piece resembles embryonic cells at different stages of development.

Wassily Kandinsky, Succession. Notice the emergent quality of the shapes--which resemble bacteria and organelles--, reminiscent of evolution.

Wassily Kandinsky, Succession. Notice the emergent quality of the shapes–which resemble bacteria and organelles–, reminiscent of evolution.

Max Ernst, The Gramineous Bicycle Garnished with Bells the Dappled Fire Damps and the Echinoderms Bending. This piece clearly suggest cell morphology.

Max Ernst, The Gramineous Bicycle Garnished with Bells the Dappled Fire Damps and the Echinoderms Bending.
This piece clearly suggest cell morphology.

Activity — Enrichment of knowledge: Google the following concepts. These may be helpful when commenting on this blog post: ‘biomorphism’, ‘cell theory’, ’17th century textile industry’.

Primary source: If you wold like to know more about the cross-disciplinary aspects of cell biology and art, you can click here: Images of the Cell in 20th Century Art and Science. This information may also prove useful when commenting on this blog post.

Rare (and vintage) Science Illustrations — via Brain Pickings

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Image by Ernst Haeckel (1834 - 1919). Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature). Asteridea is the subclass of echinoderms that includes sea stars. While slow moving, they are high-level predators and feed on other invertebrates, including mollusks and barnacles>

Image by Ernst Haeckel (1834 – 1919). Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature).  “Asteridea is the subclass of echinoderms that includes sea stars. While slow moving, they are high-level predators and feed on other invertebrates, including mollusks and barnacles.”– Via Natural Histories: 500 Years of Rare Science Illustrations.