Must read of the week: For Better Science Meetings, Invite an Artist The Finch and Pea

Art by @artologica in my living room

This is just such a good idea: For Better Science Meetings, Invite an Artist | The Finch and Pea.  Michelle Banks, also known as artologica, writing at The Finch and the Pea, goes through a detailed argument, with examples, of why one should invite artists to science meetings.

I have been inspired by Michele at many meetings.  And I have been inspired by her art with a science theme (see for example the posts listed below).

• My new microbe art corner w/ three works by @artologica 
• Microbial & Evolution art by @artologica has whole new meaning now that I met her at @scio12 
• Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’ I chortled in my joy – I have received my Tree of Life art from @artologica 
• So psyched. Got my new artwork from @artologica …. Even better than I imagined from web pics).

I have written a bit here and there about the mixing of science and art.  See for example

• The human microbiome never looked so good
• Cool bacterial art makes gizmodo #MicrobialArt
• Microbial art for the holidays from the J. Craig Venter Institute
• Headline says it all “Opera singer grows algae on her face by feeding it w/ her breath & then the audience eats it”
• This is both crazy and completely brilliant: The Microbial Academy Of Sciences
• Art Meets Science at the Keck Center in DC
• Yes I like mixing science and art – but “DNA2Art” seems a bit, well, non artsy #visualiztion≠art
• More pics of hand painted poster from #synbio5
• More art & science – hand painted poster at Synthetic Biology #synbio5 – by Karmella Haynes
• Absolutely spectacular – glass microbes
• Nice Darwin Art at #UCDavis Evolution/Ecology Dept.
• More Airport Dinosaurs – Denver This Time
• Tree of Life Art
• Art-Science Fusion and Darwin’s Face at Davis
• Germophobia: wanna get people in the mood for “Contagion” movie about killer virus – grow harmless microbes in public #microbialart
• Another week – another microbial art project
• Fun science art example: Jennifer Welsh on Zachary Copfer glowing microbe drawings
• Preparation Y: Michelle Ellsworth – Performance art mixing dance, genomics, evolution, humor, sex #brilliant
• Microbes, art, science all rolled into one – yum

But if you read one thing about science and art – read Michele’s new post.  Or, even better, start inviting artists to any science conference you have any role in.

Author: Jonathan Eisen

I am an evolutionary biologist and a Professor at U. C. Davis. (see my lab site here). My research focuses on the origin of novelty (how new processes and functions originate). To study this I focus on sequencing and analyzing genomes of organisms, especially microbes and using phylogenomic analysis View all posts by Jonathan Eisen