I was thrilled to see an exhibit of scientific drawings on display at an art gallery, "The Beautiful Brain, The Drawings of Santiago Ramon y Cajal," currently on view at the Grey Art Gallery. Unlike the drawings of his predecessors, he did not include a circular framing device as a referent to the microscope he… Continue reading The Beautiful, Abstract, Surreal, Brain
Author: mpetrou
Gabriel von Max’s “Monkey’s as Judges of Art”
In case you are wondering about the header image, it is an excerpt from Gabriel von Max's "Monkey's as Judges of Art" (Affen als Kunstkritiker). Max was one of several German-speaking artists to engage with Darwin's theory of human descent from apes. Darwin's arguments in The Origin of Species were translated and published by multiple… Continue reading Gabriel von Max’s “Monkey’s as Judges of Art”
Blood, Skin and Genitals: Dissecting Social Biases in Medicine, 1700 – Present
Incorporating a curatorial component into the history of science seminar
Incoporating a curatorial component is ideal for training students in object-centered epistemologies. This material approach is situated in recent interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences scholarship which focuses on material culture and everyday practices to access histories of marginalized social groups and epistemologies. This sample syllabus is set up for the resources at a major research… Continue reading Incorporating a curatorial component into the history of science seminar
Labs on the Go: Scientific Tools for Collecting Empire, 1600 – Present
When: July – September 2013 Where: UCLA Library Special Collections Labs on the Go examines the reciprocal and productive relationship between science and empire from the Age of Exploration, through the Age of Empire and into the present-day. Drawing on the strengths of UCLA Library Special Collections’ images and objects, the items on display highlight… Continue reading Labs on the Go: Scientific Tools for Collecting Empire, 1600 – Present
Skeletons and Silicon: The Art and Science of the Human Body
Public Science: Peepshows, Caskets and Microscopes
Peepshows, caskets, and microscopes are all things found in vaults and back-room storage areas in UCLA Library Special Collections that have a wealth of historical value. Yet the lives of these objects extend beyond the Library. Microscopes are a pervasive emblem of contemporary science, but the microscopic worlds that they make visible are not easily… Continue reading Public Science: Peepshows, Caskets and Microscopes
In the Media
http://hammer.ucla.edu/newsblogs/?p=3317 http://blogs.library.ucla.edu/biomedical/2013/07/31/labs-on-the-go-scientific-tools-for-collecting-empire-1600-present/#more-3902 http://dailybruin.com/2012/08/06/student-run-exhibits-display-history-of-science-in-university-libraries/ http://today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/exhibit-documents-history-of-how-237651.aspx http://blogs.library.ucla.edu/biomedical/2012/07/16/public-science-peepshows-caskets-and-microscopes/#more-3326