Today's Artpod features a story where science and art intersect.
At a lot of colleges and universities, the sciences are housed on one part of campus, the arts on another. But the two sides will have a chance to meet this week when the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) at the University of Michigan opens its first art gallery.
Sara Adlerstein is a research scientist at SNRE, artist, and curator for the new Art & Environment gallery. When it comes to environmental issues, she says scientists need to be able to communicate with people outside their field.
"If you’re not able to communicate to the general public, then your work is not all that relevant," explains Adlerstein. "So I’ve been exploring to do that through art; I think art speaks to the heart. With an image you can communicate directly to the heart and make people think about how to educate themselves if they’re interested in the issues."
She hopes the new gallery will show scientists and students that charts and pie graphs aren’t the only way to share their research.
Leslie Sobel will be the first artist featured in the new gallery. She'll be displaying her "Watershed Moment" series, which Sobel says was inspired by vintage survey maps of the Mississippi River and current satellite images of the River from when it flooded last spring.
"I got fascinated by these images. And then I started trying to paint my emotion, capturing what was physically happening, but also trying to be more of a painter about it; more brushy."
The Art & Environment Gallery opens Thursday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m.
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