The Princeton University Art of Science exhibition launched in 2006. In 2022, I joined the team that rebooted and revitalized the project for the first time since 2017—the long hiatus owing in large part to the pandemic.
Beginning with an open call to Princeton students, faculty, researchers, staff and alumni, Art of Science explores, as the name suggests, the symbiosis between science and art. Powerful modeling and imaging tools now capture our world in novel ways and produce compelling visual artifacts, either by intention or serendipity. When considered through the lens of art, these works push our knowledge of the human experience, enhance and challenge our understanding of the natural world, and expand what we consider art and whom we think of as artists.
The works in the 2023 exhibition include still images, videos and animations from 50 individual and group creators. Employing an array of analog, digital and computer-generated methods, they take breathtaking leaps in physical scale, from microns to lightyears.
Most importantly, they demonstrate how science-generated and science-inspired artworks do more than simply communicate methods and discoveries. They remind us of how restless, idiosyncratic and imperfectly human the scientific imagination can be, and reveal both the possibilities and limits of science’s determined reach into the unknown.
Art of Science will become a regular biannual exhibition, with planning for the 2025 exhibition currently underway.
Among other roles, I serve as art director for the project, including design of promotional and social media materials and the exhibition website, which I also built. I designed and led the installation of the physical 2023 exhibition in the Friend Center at Princeton, and with my collaborators—Brendan Byrne, Adam Finkelstein and Tim Szetela—I co-curate the project.
