Art is made for many functions. Most obviously, art is meant to entertain. A pleasure to the audience, artwork arouses all types of emotions inside the mind of the people who are meant to enjoy it. Not only, though, is art used for viewer satisfaction, but it is also displayed as a form of education. In the New York Times article by William Grimes posted on November 5, 2015 titled, “Review: ‘The Secret World Inside You’ Explores the Microbial Human,” the author explains the new and unique exhibition at the Museum of Natural History that perfectly demonstrates the role that art plays as teacher of the public.
Not yet open for show, this exhibition features lifesize and interactive art on the microbiomes of the human body. An unfamiliar topic to the general individual, it offers insight into the trillions of bacteria that find their homes in the depths under people’s skin. With games and videos and physical depictions of the real-life bacterium available throughout this section of the museum, there is no shortage of things for people to do or to explore there. At the grand opening this Saturday, November 7th, “The Secret World Inside You” hopes to attract people of all ages. From parents to their children to curious teens, this world allows people to witness the biological wonders in our bodies that are usually invisible to the naked eye.
One example of something shown in this exhibit that particularly fascinates me depicts a beautiful scene covered in an assortment of colored lights. Meant to depict the bacteria that can be found in natural settings, these lights bring a strangely alluring feeling to the room even though they represent something much less appealing to the mind. I’m sure this will be a big attraction. It is probably the easiest piece of work on the eye in the entire exhibit.
Ever since I first looked into the glass of a microscope, I have been astonished by what can been examined underneath. The movement of cell lines and bacteria and the colors of the dyes used on specimen creates a limited landscape of color within the boundaries of the magnified image. Each slide you put under the scope is its own and can never be recreated. And it’s also a tool that shows us things we cannot normally see. It doesn’t surprise me now that someone is taking these images and this knowledge and presenting them as a creative and specific form of art. I hope to make it to this exhibit because I believe it brings a lot of appreciation to the human body, and combines science and art in a way similar to that of the Bodies Exhibit in Times Square. It’s a very interesting stretch on the field art that I could envision would appeal to a very broad audience because it is a display both visually appealing and mentally stimulating.
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