|
|
Scientific Illustration —Where Science Meets Art In the Museum of Northern Arizona's new exhibit THERIZINOSAUR—Mystery of the Sickle-Claw Dinosaur, artist Victor Leshyk creates works that grow from the point where science meets art. Illustrations are essential to the scientific process; by concentrating complex knowledge into nuggets that can be handed off to other thinkers, scientific illustration presents new research and findings to the world. Scientific illustration has a long history, dating back to careful drawings and engravings made before cameras were available. Hi-tech instruments like space telescopes and MRI's have arrived, yet scientists still need exploded views, idealized views, or restored views of lost or damaged subjects that are not available at the push of a button. Whether to meticulously record a subject as seen, or to present results, interpretations, and ideas, illustrations are used to present forensic evidence to jurors in a courtroom, medical knowledge to patients, and academic subjects to students of medicine and other technical fields. And in MNA's case, illustration is essential to reconstruct an extinct animal that the world has never seen. An illustrator who can achieve this level of interpretation must be close to the science it is based on. For his hand-drawn works, Leshyk brings a background in anatomy, physical science, and natural history to the task from both formal and private study. This MNA project has required drawings by hand, paintings on computers, models in clay and wire, and much outside research. In particular, the illustrator has enjoyed working with the richness of the lost therizinosaur's tale. "I always love to get deeply immersed in my subject," said Leshyk, "and working with the paleontologist who unearthed our bones is about as close as one can get. And especially because of the early stage of the science behind this find, the exhibit gives a great opportunity to illustrate a wide range of ideas about this mysterious animal for the visitors to evaluate in their own minds." Article courtesy of Michele Bourgeois Mountain, Museum of Northern Arizona. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
