Art & Science

Highlights from the Collection of the National Academy of Sciences

September 20, 2010 - March 12, 2012

Keck Center, First Floor Gallery, 500 Fifth St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

Free. Photo ID required.

For more than 30 years, the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences has exhibited and collected artwork that explores relationships among the arts and sciences. The collection's highlights include sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, and paintings, and feature notable artists such as Alfredo Arreguin, Robert Berks, Harry Bertoia, Terry Falke, Justine Cooper, Jill Greenberg, Susan Middleton and David Liitschwager, Vik Muniz, Tim Rollins + K.O.S., David Maisel, Jim Sanborn, and Mike and Doug Starn. Traditionally displayed throughout the NAS headquarters on Constitution Avenue, which is currently under restoration, these objects provide a sampling of the range of styles and approaches that artists take in preserving the ideas of science today.

There are many connections between the fields of art and science. Both seek to explain the world around us, but they do so from distinctly different perspectives. Artists have always worked not only with the material and technology of their time but also in terms of the pervading thoughts of society. Contemporary artists, such as those represented in this exhibition, are no exception. In the constellation of disciplines that shape culture today, few have had more impact than science and technology. It is no surprise that many artists gravitate toward the tools and themes these fields have generated.