SciArt Magazine Volume 23
April 2017
​Table of Contents

Cover image: "Frankenstein" San Francisco Ballet by Liam Scarlett. © Erik Tomasson
Letter from the Editor
Open call for STEAM articles for a special topics SciArt issue, August 2017

Dear readers and colleagues,
​
​As the STEAM educational movement gains momentum, the conversation around what STEAM is, what it can do, and what it is already doing is actively taking shape. STEAM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Art-Math) emphasizes an integrated and holistic approach to learning. STEAM has become popularized for many reasons near and dear to us at SciArt, such as the documented benefits of arts-based learning on general creative capacity and the increasing desire to break free from the disciplinary silo system which many find tiresome and outdated. But like the start of anything new, STEAM education lacks a rubric, guidelines, or standards for educators to follow and be inspired by. Only through a collecting of current STEAM approaches can we correctly and coherently analyze this educational movement for its benefits and its weak spots, and push beyond the buzz-word phase we currently find ourselves in. Such an analysis is important if STEAM is ever to to be packaged and integrated into our educational system in a widespread manner. STEAM is easy to talk about but still hard to do. 

The August issue of SciArt will be dedicated to publishing the varied approaches that STEAM educators are taking - from theory to case study, we are accepting articles for submission now through June 15th. Please see our submissions page for more information on our submission process and policies. 

Sincerely,
Julia Buntaine | Founder, Editor-in-Chief

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REVIEW
Frankenstein Was One of Us

When I heard the San Francisco Ballet was doing an interpretation of Frankenstein I was thoroughly nonplussed. It wasn’t my lack of interest in the subject, but the memory of every theatrical version of the story I had ever seen. There was the heavy-footed, clumsy Boris Karloff in the 1931 film, the bare-chested histrionics of Branagh’s cinematic take, and the completely unwatchable I, Frankenstein. Yet, there I was, pensively seated in the theater waiting for the curtain to lift...

STRAIGHT TALK
Firefly photography with Michael Flomen

The “Rising” photographs of snow fields were made in Northern Vermont between 1996 and 2000. I was spending a lot of time in the countryside then, making traditional landscape photographs with eight by ten-inch camera equipment. When summer came around, the fireflies appeared in the fields in the early evenings. In 1998, while admiring this phenomenon I realized I wanted to photograph it... 

STRAIGHT TALK
​BioArt with Kathy High

I first came to this science, technology and biology research-based art through my early videos. I lived in New York City from the early 1980s on and at the time I decided to just focus on video production as my means of expression. In the late 1980s and through the 1990s I was creating works that were rooted in documentary that melded fact and fiction...

ON SCREEN
"User Illusion" by Dan Lloyd

As a philosopher and cognitive neuroscientist, I stand in awe of the complexity of the human brain, and in wonder at the intricacy of human consciousness. To illuminate this neural tapestry, insight needs all the help it can find. I've harnessed multivariate statistics, visualization, and sonification in several video works that try to reveal dimensions of our selves to our selves. The current work, "User Illusion," pursues the question of mind and world on a more abstract level...

ON VIEW
The Reciprocal Biomimicry Initiative by Jonathon Keats

In recent years, engineers have designed body armor based on beetle shells and applied the aerodynamics of kingfisher beaks to bullet trains. Biomimicry is the buzzword, and the principle has served us well, but biomimicry rarely benefits the organisms whose innovations we steal. On the contrary, humanity only uses these technologies to commandeer more of the planet...

RESIDENCY
"EcoVenus" at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

Each morning last winter (excluding Sundays and University holidays) Michelle Rogers queued up for a shuttle bus in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan to make a lurching, 40-minute trek uptown, across the Hudson River, and north through New Jersey. The shuttle’s destination is just past the sign that welcomes you back to the Empire State: Columbia University’s sprawling, sylvan laboratory for environmental science, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory...

INTERNATIONAL
Lichen in Love by Karolina Ferenc

"Lichen in Love is a speculative scenario about a new relationship between a human and a nonhuman other. This project consists of a set of quasi-scientific objects, animations, visuals, and love letters reflecting the growing intimacy, affection, and friendship between a woman and lichen...

SPOTLIGHT
Market squid embryos can handle stress, yo.

Squidtoons illustrates a wide spectrum of marine biology-related topics using a combination of infographic, comic, and visual art. Frustrated with the increasing misrepresentation of science, Garfield Kwan (currently a doctoral student) founded Squidtoons to translate complex and wordy scientific articles into concise yet visually-appealing comics. Working together with a team of artists and scientists, Squidtoons is dedicated to educating and engaging the public about science as well as supporting scientists with illustrations...​
Founder, Editor in Chief: Julia Buntaine
Contributing & Guest Writers: Joe Ferguson, Julia Buntaine, Danielle McCloskey, Dan Lloyd, Jonathon Keats, Kyle Frischkorn, Karolina Ferenc