Pedro Gallardo Nascimento, Special to The Denisonian
Against a dramatic, black background, three Escherichia coli cells await their destruction.
On the left, a virus injects its DNA into the bacterium. In the middle, its body has been hijacked, forced to replicate the virus. On the right, the virus has produced a protein that tears through the cell membrane. Debilitated, the bacterium bursts, releasing new copies of the virus, giving way to new forms of destruction.
The image described above, a vibrant composition on the cycles of bacteriophages by David S. Goodsell, is just one of the pieces being displayed at “CYCLES: From Cells to the Cosmos,” the latest exhibit at Denison Museum.
Running though Dec. 4, “CYCLES” explores the interdependence and interconnectedness of matter — how disparate themes from science to math to art may share similarities over methods or form the basis of one another’s existence. Across more than 50 pieces, “CYCLES” invites visitors to engage with different mediums to draw their own observations about the cosmos and humanity’s place within it. Artists in this iteration include faculty members John Soderberg (Anthropology), Molly Wolf (Dance), and Dan Homan (Physics/Astronomy); scientific illustrators David S. Goodsell and Jill Pelto; and conceptual artist Katie Paterson, whose minimalist work of the cosmos and humanity Megan Hancock, the Denison Museum curator, particularly adores.
“I love the richness of her work. It forced me to research and learn about radio frequencies, Morse code, and music,” Hancock said. “I love the transformation of a historical song that I was very familiar with and seeing this disconnection into a theme of cycles through a very contemporary and conceptual artwork.”
Despite its extensive list of artists, the original goal of “CYCLES” was to only explore scientific themes. Professor Andy McCall initially came up with the idea and title of the exhibit in a conversation with the biology department as a way to “think through things he is using in his own scholarship” — namely pollination and plant-herbivore interactions. But as the concept spread to those in other departments, its scope also broadened.
“When Dan Homan offered up some of his photography, we started thinking about planetary cycles,” said Hancock. “When we landed on cycles, we realized there are plant cycles, insect cycles, and cellular cycles.”
Now with its diverse set of themes and mediums — “fine art, historic books, iPad art with data” — the project has made its way into the tradition of big, biannual exhibitions that the Denison Museum has hosted since becoming a teaching museum in 2011. Unlike other college museums influenced by market trends, such as the Richard M. Ross at Ohio Wesleyan, or for-profit institutions like auction houses, where staff may be “under gag orders,” the Denison Museum requires its staff to remain attentive to the needs of academia. In other words, facilitating learning is paramount for that philosophy.
“This is not about what I personally have a dream of curating,” Hancock said.
As such, Hancock views exhibitions such as “CYCLES” as extensions of Denison’s overall pedagogic goal.
“The museum reflects a space to hold those discussions, and the tie that binds is that we have a visual element of that,” said Hancock. “These things are here to foster dialogue and be a vehicle for more expansive ways of looking and learning. I think that is pretty special.”