June 1, 2009
Special Events:
Tuesday, June 2: "Banners and Murals" student reception, 2 to 3 p.m., Bohart Museum of Entomology, 1124 Academic Surge
Wednesday, June 3: "Face of Darwin" student celebration, 6:20 to 8 p.m., Environmental Horticulture 148
June 3-July 3: Art and Science Show, Buehler Alumni and Visitors’ Center: 50 photographs from Terry Nathan’s class “Photography: Bridging Art and Science” and "Face of Darwin" ceramic mosaic from Diane Ullman-Donna Billick class. Public reception from 3 to 5 p.m., Thursday, June 4. |
 |
| "The Face of Darwin" is a ceramic mosaic that will be displayed at an art show at the Buehler Alumni Center, June 3-July 3. A public reception is set from 3 to 5 p.m., June 4. (Photo by Diane Ullman) |
DAVIS—You can see art blended with science at three different events from June 2 through July 3
'Face of Darwin' Reception on Wednesday, June 3
The “Face of Darwin,”created by 20 students in a freshman seminar and several community members, will be celebrated by its student creators on Wednesday night, June 3 in Environmental Horticulture 148.
The students will discuss the pieces they contributed and also will give group presentations from approximately 6:20 to 8 p.m., said entomologist Diane Ullman, professor of entomology and associate dean for undergraduate academic programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She and fellow artist Donna Billick conducted the class, titled.“The Face of Darwin: Exploring the Art/Science Borderland." Works include “The Voyage of the Beagle: Key Discoveries”; Development of Darwin’s Thinking”; “On the Origin of the Species: the Key Elements”; and “The Modern Day Darwins: Comtemporary Evolutionary Thinking.”
Ullman explained that in recognition of Darwin’s 200th birthday, students from majors across campus studied Darwin’s life and the observations that led him to propose evolution by natural selection. “Darwin’s face is formed by selections from his secret notebooks and the images of those organisms that influenced him most," she said. "With a beard of peppered moths, hair of barnacles and a coat of iguanas, finches, orchids and a host of other creatures, this mosaic is a profound learning experience in and of itself.”
Ullman serves on the steering committee of the UC Davis Arboretum GATEways (Gardens, Art and the Environment) Project Initiative, which encompasses the UC Davis Art-Science Fusion Program, an outreach program that Ullman co-founded and co-directs with Billick. She also stewards the Career Discovery Group Program, which mentors first-year CA&ES students.
Art Show at Buehler Alumni Center, June 3-July 3
Public Reception from 3 to 5 p.m., Thursday, June 4
An art show, "Photography: Bridging Art and Science," is set June 3-July 3 at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors' Center. The opening reception, which is free and open to the public, is Thursday, June 4 from 3 to 5 p.m. Fifty photographs from Terry Nathan’s class “Photography: Bridging Art and Science,” part of Science and Society Program, Art/Science Fusion Program series at UC Davis, will be shown, along with the "Face of Darwin" ceramic mosaic from a class taught by Diane Ullman and Donna Billick.
In Nathan's class, the students explored the conceptual connections between art and science and the role of art and science on the UC Davis campus.
The ceramic mosaic mural, "The Face of Darwin" (see information above) was created in recognition of Darwin’s 200th birthday.
Banners and Murals at the Bohart Museum; Reception on Tuesday, June 2
 |
| Close-up of syrphid fly on a work hanging at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Click to enlarge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
Students in Diane Ullman’s Entomology 001 class created banners and murals for the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the work is now hanging in the hallway outside the museum. They will celebrate the work at a hallway reception from 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 2. The Bohart Museum is located at 1124 Academic Surge.
The colorful banners and murals, permanently displayed in the hallway, spotlight the richness and diversity of insects, an important component of the Bohart Museum. The museum, named for its founder, entomologist Richard Bohart, houses more than seven million insect specimens, the seventh largest insect collecting North America. Opened in 1946, it is dedicated to teaching, research and service and is directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology. It is also home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity of California’s deserts, mountains, coast and great central valley.
Bohart (1913-2007), world-renowned for his expertise on wasps and mosquitoes during his 32-year career at UC Davis, identified more than one million mosquitoes and wasps, many displayed at the museum. He authored 230 separate publications and wrote six books on mosquitoes and wasps.
For additional information on the science-art events, contact Terry Nathan (530) 752-1609, trnathan@ucdavis.edu; or Diane Ullman (530) 304-1464, deullman@ucdavis.edu.
Back to News
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
