And the Beat Goes On

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago just replaced their old, yet cherished, walk-through heart with one that holds interactivity in a modern fashion. This new 14-foot steel wall hanging has the image of a human heart beating projected onto its surface. Place your hand on the pulse station's hand grips and the animated heart will match your pulse. More interactivity of this heart displays the inner anatomy and the electrical function that will keep education entertaining. This technological wonder is part of the new, 15,000-square-foot permanent exhibit pinned "You! The Experience". Scheduled to open October 8th, the exhibit is designed to showcase for visitors how the human body works and how to make better decisions regarding health and mental well-being.

Tom Hennes, president of the New York design firm Thinc, is the new exhibit's primary designer. Furthermore, the "Inner Life of the Cell" creator David Bolinsky, and his team, XVIVO, were involved in creating this new exhibit. Wait, there is one more part: David Bolinski is visiting our program and in the main guest speaker in this year's Frank Armitage Lecture which is presented by the Biomedical Visualization to show new technologies in our field.

The UIC Biomedical Visualization program not only has ties with the new heart installation, but the old one as well. The 8-foot wide, plaster of paris heart built around a pillar was designed and created in our department by past faculty and others, including Professor A. Hooker Goodwin, the director of from the 1950s to 1976. Because of the construction, the walk-through heart had to be broken into smaller pieces. Some of the pieces have been given as mementos to the people or the families that have worked on the installation, so I'm assuming our department will have something somewhere. In our hallway, we have photographs of the construction.

I personally look forward to taking a look at this new exhibit when it is open to the public. I hope you do too!

Photo courtesy of msichicago.org. Heart in "You! The Experience" permanent exhibit. 2009. Museum of Science and Industry. Chicago, IL.

My, What a Big Eye You Have....

I think this one is for the record books people. This is by far the biggest eye that I have ever seen and it is in the US! Eye by Tony Tasset is a 12-foot diameter, fiberglass painted well, eye that is exhibited in Laumeier Sculpture Park in Saint Louis, MO. The detail of the iris and the ocular conjunctival vasculature is what captured me when I first took a look at it monumental piece. After doing a little bit of research, I found something even more interesting.....

Tony Tasset is a local! Yes, Tony received his Master of Fine Arts degree from The School of the Art institute of Chicago and is currently a University Professor at UIC in the School of Art and Design. I guess UIC is the place to be! Though Tasset recently has been creating large-scale permanent sculptural pieces for the outdoors, he works in a variety of mediums.

Though not solely science and anatomy-based, he created the Capuchine Chandelier, which uses the skeleton as an art material. It reminds me of the Roman Catholic Church of Sedlec in the Czech Republic as well as the catacombs of Paris, though these places actually used the real thing. Finding out more more about Tony Tasset was a great experience and I may have to contact him to learn more! Well back to working on my own medical-based projects!




Photo courtesy of Laumeier.com "Eye", 2007, Tony Tasset and Blog.daytonc.com "Capuchine Chandelier" 2006, Tony Tasset.

Capacity

Who would have thought to have done the tracheobronchial tree in glass? That person would be Anne Cattrell, a sculptor that lives in London. The piece, named "Capacity," is made from lamp worked glass as was inspired by interest in the sciences. Her particular focuses are in neuroscience, anatomy, and meteorology which inspire her in her creations. She also prefers to use glass because of its transparency and revealing properties.

'I choose the familiar, for example a cloud, so whatever language you speak there is a kind of universal understanding. It is the transformation and freezing into three-dimensions of this iconographic subject matter that interests me: what happens when you contemplate something you think you know but shouldn't really be seeing this way. This three-dimensional vantage point allows the viewer to examine the subtle shifts and rhythms which ceaselessly occur in the natural world and
within the body.' - Anne Cattrell

I can't believe how intricate she was able to be with the brochiole system. Unfortunately, I was unable to find out much more about her process or her artwork online. Hopefully I will find something more since she does have such an interest in science and art.


Now to me. :D Today was LONG. I thought it would be great idea to have Friday off of my internship so I could work more on my 3D Max assignment since I have to leave a little early sometimes. However, that only leaves me with 2 days to get 20 hours in. I did it anyway. It will feel nice to not have to run around tomorrow, but these last 2 days have been quite exhausting with 10 hours of my internship as well as doing classwork on top of that. It has been a great experience though and I would rather be busy than bored, even though I tend to stress myself out at times. I just need to step back and focus on the big picture and diligently work on my classwork.

Tomorrow I have my critique on my sexy cecum in Illustration Techniques. Hopefully it goes well.


Photo courtesy of denzeen.com. Anne Cattrell, "Capacity", 2000, Lamp worked glass.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My heart is only for you..... and some flowers. These heart-shaped vases are perfect for your Valentine's Day anatomy-loving sweetheart. Just add a flower and bring it to life! Both vases are from Esque Design, but are unique, just like the real ones!

Photo courtesy: Anatomical Heart Vases. Esque design. Top: www.unicahome.com. Bottom: www.supermarkethq.com